The Warring Earth—Book One: Fire
by Twins of the Pen
Summary: After centuries, new wave of unrest has erupted, the balance tipped. Neo-Equalists have taken Republic City, a war surging across the world. Benders everywhere are hiding, afraid. The Resistance is fighting to take back their rights. This is the story of a new Avatar who doesn't know what he's doing and the lives of the people that become his team. First of five books. OC Pairings.
1. The Escape

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

_**Book One—Fire**_

**By Twins of the Pen**

**Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

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_Long ago, the four nations lived in harmony. When the Fire Nation rose up to destroy that harmony, it was the Avatar—master of all four elements—that saved the world. When that balance was threatened again, generations later, the Avatar again rose up to keep the balance between benders and their ungifted counterparts._

_But now more than a century has passed, and the threat is back. A new wave of unrest has erupted, the balance tipped once again. The Neo-Equalists have taken Republic City, a new war surging across the world. Benders everywhere are hiding, afraid. The Resistance is fighting to take back their rights. This is a new era, a different time. The death tolls are rising, the hatred increasing._

_And, despite the Neo-Equalists greatest efforts, a new legend was born, living right under their noses: the only one with the power to end the war._

_The Avatar._

* * *

"Syaoran! Syaoran, wake up!"

Groggily, the teenaged male on the ground opened his jade eyes, a shadow looming over him. Syaoran groaned. "What do you want, Sora?" he asked, peering up at his little sister. The young girl crossed her arms with an irritable grunt.

"It's time to go back inside," Sora told him bitterly. It made him frown too. The time they were allowed outside, out in the sun, was far and few between. And while the sun's rays were comforting, they were also in a way foreign, changed. Twas the same sun that had once always beat down on Syaoran as he'd worked his father's fields. It was the same sun that would give his little sister sunburns that would last for stretches of time. It had once been a symbol of prosperity, a sign that their crops would grow up tall and strong.

But now the sun was like a long-lost friend, remaining lost to him. Every time they were let outside into the courtyard, it felt strange to him, almost awkward as he was becoming more and more accustomed to the darkness of their cells.

What was to be expected, though? This wasn't home, these fortified walls and dank cells. It was imprisonment. It was jail.

How had it turned out like this? He had no clue. One day he was out in the fields as normal, right as rain—and then the next his entire village was being taken by soldiers, legally imprisoning them. Why? Because of their earthbender abilities.

But that was life these days, trodden by war. Syaoran had heard of the war all of his life, beginning when he was just a toddler. However, never had he had to experience its wrath. His home had been isolated, protected by the steep mountains that surrounded it. Him and his family—they had been safe.

It was two years ago that the soldiers invaded, stripping them of their land, blocking their bending. And it was all just to lock them away, to keep all earthbenders under lock and key. After all, the next Avatar was supposed to be an earthbender… if there was going to be a new Avatar. As long as he'd been alive, there hadn't been one, not since Avatar Korra died.

Begrudingly, Syaoran got up off the ground, all too unwilling to end his nap in the sun. But if it was time to go back to their cells, it was time to go back. Aggravating the guards did not bode for anyone. Ever.

"All right, let's go, Sora," he called out to his sister as he ruffled the back of his shaggy brown hair, then shoving his hands into the pockets of his raggedy clothes. They were itchy and uncomfortable, worn and torn. Then again, they were prisoners of war; comfort was one of the last things the Neo-Equalists would give them.

Ahead of them, the earthbender caught sight of his mother, so weary and worn. Still, she had that ever present frown on her face.

"Hurry up now," she said, urging them to move faster.

Syaoran picked up his pace only to hear a small squeal behind him. Whipping his head around to look, he saw one of the guards with a rigid grip on Sora. "Hey!" he called out, unable to help himself. "What's going on?"

The soldier looked at Syaoran in contempt, as if the earthbender shouldn't have spoken to him at all. "Random testing," he answered simply. Syaoran didn't have to look behind him to see that his mother's face had probably paled.

Random testing. Just another excuse for them to be poked and prodded, beaten down. They were trying to find the Avatar, provoke the earthbenders into attacking, hoping one would give way to another element. But Sora was just a kid—she couldn't take that. They'd seen what other earthbenders had come out looking like. It had already happened to their father; he was still in the medical ward of the camp from it.

"Look, just leave her alone," Syaoran said, moving closer to her and the guard. He was not about to let this happen to his sister, especially when she couldn't even protect herself. It was only by association she was in this place. She wasn't an earthbender. She had nothing to give them.

But the guard stood firm, holding onto Sora's arm tighter. "Back off, boy!" the man barked at him, and at first, Syaoran stood still, not knowing what to do. However, it was the look of pure fear on Sora's face that called him to action. These soldiers had already nearly taken their father. They weren't going to take his sister too.

"No!" Syaoran denied. "So get away from her!" An unfamiliar rush started to course through him, burning.

"Or what?" the guard jeered. "What're you going to do to me?"

The moment he earthbended, the hammer would come cracking down on him. Syaoran knew that. But he couldn't just let Sora go with them. "Stay away from her!" he yelled anyway and Syaoran stepped closer again to rip the man's hand off of his sister. When the guard reached for her again, the heated feeling inside only grew and Syaoran to pushed Sora back towards their mother. "I said stay away from her!"

Syaoran only intended to push the man back. What he didn't expect to happen was for the boiling feeling inside him to erupt. Flames came from his hands as he shoved the soldier back. The man cried out in pain, but that wasn't the real problem. It was that all eyes were suddenly on him—even his own.

"No way…" he mumbled, staring at his fiery hands confused with himself.

"Syaoran!"

His gaze snapped up at his mother's call and he realized more guards were moving in, staring at him. Syaoran knew what they were thinking, what they thought he was. But that couldn't be, right? It was a mistake. There was no way he could be—

"The Avatar!" one of the men shouted. Soon they all had their electrical rods out and Syaoran knew he was in for it. If they thought he was the Avatar—which he frankly wasn't sure could be right, even though he was firebending—then things would get a lot worse for him than 'random testing'.

Turning back to his family, Syaoran saw his mother clinging onto Sora, staring at him with desperation and ferocity.

"Run! Get out of here!" she demanded him.

"But—!"

"GO!"

Since all of the guards were now focused on him instead of his family, Syaoran decided to listen this time. As they lunged at him, he dodged and weaved, yelping when the electrical currents would scrape ever so close to him. He had to get out of there; nowhere was safe in the camp.

With a loud yell, he caused the fire to burst from his hands in a vicious stream, unforgiving to those soldiers caught in its path. The way cleared, Syaoran sprinted ahead, everyone chasing after him. He didn't know what to do, where to go.

Then he saw the courtyard wall. If he could get over the wall, then maybe he could get out of there.

Considering he was already spewing fire and had majority of the camp's guards after him, the rest being called in as back-up, Syaoran figured he couldn't get into any more trouble than he already was.

And so, with a rigid yank of his arms upwards, the ground was raised below him, propelling him up into the air and forward. But he wasn't going to make it over the wall—had it been so long since he earthbended? Where was his strength?

Syaoran reached out a hand and managed to grab onto the top of the wall. It was all he could do not to drop down to the ground as he clung there. Bullets began to wiz past him and he knew it was time to go. Clambering up, he pulled himself over the wall and started to fall to the ground. With swift movements of his arms, he managed to raise a series of stone pillars, hopping down each of them.

When he hit the ground, he took off running. It didn't matter where he was running to—voices were still shouting after him, the gates opening to set loose the soldiers. Syaoran had a head start; he had to keep moving. He couldn't even risk a look back, to wonder about the fate of his family now. His mother told him to go, and so he did.

But as he took off into the woods for dear life, Syaoran vowed one thing: he would come back for them. He didn't know when, but once he figured what was going on, why he was firebending, he would come back.

* * *

**A/N from DJ: So, I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! It's a little on the short side, but don't worry: we're just getting warmed up. This is going to be a full series, comprised of four books. This Avatar series is character-centric with a ridiculous cast, full of excitement, danger, romance, and discovering your full potential. We hope to update it semi-regularly, but it depends on how we can churn stuff out. xP So, this is only the beginning to a new legend and a wild rollercoaster ride!**


	2. The Resistance

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire**

**By Twins of the Pen**

******Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

* * *

Hours had passed since he'd last seen his family, and it was a similar amount of time since the last he'd eaten. Never had Syaoran thought the day would come that the meager morsels given to the earthbenders would be considered a meal by him. And yet, here he was, wandering the desolate woodlands, the beating sun above pushing through the treetops to reign over him.

For a brief moment, Syaoran allowed the anger of injustice to seep past his control as he gave the ground an immature, hardy stomp, accompanying his growl of exasperation. Stones flew upwards, and he grimaced a little. It was enough to remind him to rein it back in.

Because that was what had gotten himself into this whole mess. Losing his temper, finally saying that enough was enough. And it was in that fit of anger that the fire had erupted from his clenched fists. Syaoran looked down at them again, as if seeing them for the first time. The hands he knew so well did not spew flames, but mastered the earth beneath his feet.

He knew what this meant and it still made little to no sense to him at all. It was inconceivable to him. But the guards had clearly believed it, believed Syaoran Wong was the new Avatar, the leader born to save the benders from oppression, the one to lead the fight for their rights.

If only he could believe it now.

Free from the earthbender concentration camps, lost in the wilderness, Syaoran stopped in his tracks, worn and tired. Then again, didn't he usually look that way? Either way, if he was truly the Avatar—which seemed to be the belief after he had miraculously firebended against his oppressors and escaped—then he would have the ability to master all of the four elements. He was already adept at the earth. That was what he knew as well as he knew himself. So, according to the tales of old, next was fire.

Syaoran looked at his hands again in confusion. Where was he supposed to start? He didn't even know how he'd managed it the first time. "Fire, go!" he found himself awkwardly proclaiming with a punch. Alas, nothing happened. Again he tried, but to no avail. Syaoran did not know what it was that triggered it last time, and to be frank, he had never seen a firebender anywhere but in the history books. Leaving him nowhere to begin.

So Syaoran continued in futile effort, throwing rigid punches and poised kicks into the air around him, in hopes that just maybe something would happen. He felt silly, ridiculous, perhaps a bit deluded. "C'mon!" he tried to coax the flames he'd seen before. Nothing. It was enough to make him scratch his head rigorously in irritation.

If it were not for the fact that he had escaped from the horrible encampment where he'd been held captive for the past few years, Syaoran would have thought he had simply dreamed up the whole thing. His jade eyes went up to the sky above, bright above him; they glanced around at the wood and his ears listened to the sounds of wildlife. It had been far too long since the last time he'd been able to experience this, which meant it was real. It was real that he was no longer a captive, that he had blasted fire, despite being a low earthbender his whole life.

"Okay, Fire, work with me," he grumbled to himself, disgruntled. And so he continued to try. Again. And again. And again.

* * *

"Stop! Bring back my cabbages, you thief!"

Tiki only spared enough time to glance back at the angry merchant chasing after her before she poured on the speed, leaping and bounding and dodging through the crowded city streets with two cabbages under her arms. She was moving as fast as her short legs could carry her, dark hair pulled back in two twin tails, trailing after her.

"Sheesh, it's only two cabbages. What's his problem, Lili?" Tiki inquired of the lemur keeping pace with her, weaving through the air at her side as she ran. "He had hundreds of them! Surely he can spare two for us? We're growing girls, after all!"

Tiki chuckled at her own joke as she rounded a corner, but had to hastily skid to a halt at the sight before her. But too late.

"There the little airbender is! Grab her!" one of the Neo-Equalists demanded, and the group rushed forward. The small airbender hastily back-tracked, blew a gust of air out of her mouth to give herself some altitude, and then proceeded to leap on every one of the Neo-Equalists' heads and escape onto a nearby rooftop.

"Little? Hmph! I prefer 'petite'!" Tiki griped to herself before dropping down onto the street again and taking off. By now, the merchant had sighted her again, and was on her tail once more, followed closely by the Neo-Equalists. "So many men chasing after me today! I'm so popular!" Tiki giggled. Nearby was a narrow alleyway she could escape to, and so she did, pausing to laugh briefly at the merchant and the Neo-Equalists as they toppled over one another trying to get through the narrow passage as well. And off she was again, navigating her way through the back alleys until she reached the outskirts of the city.

There a dense forest waited for her, perfect for cover. Somehow, the Neo-Equalists had caught up to her once more, but Tiki was good at this game. She merely leapt from tree to tree and bush to bush, climbing higher and higher until the soldiers could no longer see her and headed off in different directions to search. High above them, Tiki stuck out her tongue and made faces at them until they were out of sight.

"Ha! I'm still the Champion at Hide-and-Seek!" she rejoiced before handing a cabbage to her lemur and biting into her own. As she chewed, Tiki looked down... and saw a rather peculiar sight.

There was a boy below her, who looked to be about her age, stomping and kicking air. Tiki wondered for a brief moment just what the air had done to him to deserve such treatment when she abruptly realized that he was wearing clothes that suggested imprisonment at one of the earthbending concentration camps. Even more curious now, Tiki dropped down a few branches on her tree to get a closer look, still chewing her bite of cabbage.

Yes, the boy definitely looked as if he had taken some hard knocks in his life. His face looked famished, but his gaze was steady, focused on his task... whatever that was.

'_Is he trying to bend?_' Tiki wondered, taking another bite out of her cabbage. '_Did he forget how to, with all that time spent in the camp? I wonder..._'

Tiki turned around, balancing her cabbage on the branch before gripping the branch with her legs and then swinging down so that her face was directly in front of the boy's.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asked innocently, still chewing.

Taken aback by the small face that appeared so close to him, Syaoran took a quick step back with a small yelp. However, after gazing intensely at the petite character, he deemed her no threat to him and therefore picked his efforts back up. "I'm concentrating," he deadpanned, trying to recall what it was that had initially triggered the fire for him previously.

He was failing at that, but that did not mean he was going to voice that to a stranger, nor was he going to give up. Instead, he only continued his motions more furiously, as if making up for his lack of knowledge in his effort.

To his dismay, that did not work.

And it did not help that the girl peering from the treetops was bearing food—a substance that immediately made his stomach gargle and remind him how hungry it truly was. But Syaoran had to do his best to ignore it, focusing only at the task at hand. If he had learned to block out the sneers of the Neo-Equalists for the past while, then he could easily ignore a young girl. In theory.

"Concentrating on what?" Tiki wanted to know, swinging back up onto her branch to reach for her cabbage. Just as she was about to take another bite, she heard the gurgling from the poor, hungry earthbender's belly. She looked at her cabbage, then at the boy, and back again several times before she decided that he needed it more. So, she used her airbending to slice off the section that she had already bitten into, tossed it up to Lili for safe-keeping, and then air floated her way down to the ground and presented the half-cabbage proudly to the boy.

"Here. It's not much, but it'll help," she offered with a smile. "My name's Tiki, by the way. My lemur up there is named Lili. Tiki and Lili... sounds like a great comedy duo, no? Sadly, not many people laugh at our jokes because Lili always gets the punch lines wrong."

Tiki took this opportunity to scowl back at the lemur. "I _told_you, Lili: practice makes perfect!"

Lili, for her part, simply tilted her head cluelessly at her master as Tiki turned back to face the boy again, waiting for him to laugh at her silly behavior.

But instead Syaoran just stared at her as if she were a bear among dog-bears. And he certainly did not take the offered cabbage half from the girl. "No thanks," he replied, turning away from her again. He had to at least try and realize just how he'd managed to pull it off before.

For the life of him, Syaoran could not figure out how he had been able to bend fire one moment, and then the next unable to even conjure up smoke. It made no sense to him. Then again, bending fire as an earthbender hardly made sense to him either, but Syaoran was just going to roll with it.

Taking a deep breath, he took his deep stance, trying to think back on his previous actions. What could have been the reason the fire had chosen to emit from his fingertips at that moment? Sure, he had been angry, but it was not as if that was the first time in his life he had been upset.

Tiki frowned—practically pouted—at the serious boy. Why was he so stuffy? How boring.

And she knew he was hungry. His stomach was making noises reminiscent to a polar bear dog's growl. Why was he being so stubborn? Whatever it was he was trying to concentrate on must be important.

But still, that didn't mean he should ignore his basic needs, right?

Tiki summoned her air scooter and proceeded to ride around the boy, speaking to him as she wove neat little circles around him.

"I know your mom probably told you that taking candy from strangers wasn't smart," she began conversationally as she went around and around, "but this isn't candy, it's cabbage. I don't know if you're a cabbage person or not, but if it's not gonna make you break out in hives or anything, I'd just eat it, if I were as hungry as you are."

Tiki abruptly stopped in front of the stranger and offered him the cabbage again with another smile. "Besides, if you don't just take it, I'm only gonna keep bugging you about it. So don't be so stubborn, Earthbender Boy. By the way, how come you're all the way out here? How did you escape the camps? Are you some sort of magician? Are the Neo-Equalists searching for you right now? If so, you might wanna get a move on instead of doing… whatever it is you're doing. There were some chasing me just a minute ago, and they are _not_friendly."

They never were, really, but that was beside the point.

Just as Syaoran was rolling his eyes and about to excuse the young Airbender from her one-sided conversation, the tail end of her words certainly halted him. "Wait, what?" he said rather unintelligently. His jade eyes grew and Syaoran whirled to look at Tiki, acknowledging her really for the first time.

"Neo-Equalists? They're near here?" he inquired, hoping in his heart of hearts that he had heard her wrong. But he was proven wrong otherwise.

It was then that he felt the rustling of the earth underfoot, and before Syaoran could react, he knew they were surrounded. All around them—in the trees, on the ground, in the bushes—Neo-Equalists were everywhere. And they were closing in on them.

"There's the little thief," a voice said, appraising Tiki and the cabbage in her hand. It was impossible to know which one spoke; they all looked very much alike. They were uniformed, bearing the revived emblem of the age-old Equalist Movement. But it did not matter which soldier had spoken. A Neo-Equalist was a Neo-Equalist. So that's why Syaoran's hair stood on end when he heard the following words:

"Hey, isn't that an earthbender?"

It was in that moment he knew he was sunk. Sure, Syaoran could earthbend, but if even one of the masses knew Chi-blocking and got a hold of him, it was back to the camps. And he knew that was exactly where he did not want to go.

"Crap."

But Tiki just let out a sigh.

"Oh, poo. Fun time's over," she acknowledged before lobbing the cabbage half as hard as she could at the nearest Neo-Equalist. And while the vegetable hardly hurt once it made contact, it did serve in proving a distraction as Tiki undid the orange jacket around her waist and transformed it into a semi-modern hang-glider, which she closed up in favor of using it as a weapon. Her feline grin in place, Tiki beckoned to the Neo-Equalists with a wink.

"Come and get me, boys."

The Neo-Equalists charged. Tiki twirled her glider stick over her head before bringing it down in an arc, blasting air into the oncoming soldiers. Some of them were knocked down, but most stood their ground and struggled their way towards her. But Tiki knew how to fight with her hands and feet as well as her bending, and she swiftly ducked the closest Neo-Equalists, hitting them low and tripping them up.

When she stood back up and saw a larger Neo-Equalist stomping her way, she leapt up, frozen in the air for a moment—which severely confused the large Neo-Equalist—before she kicked him in the face and caused him to fall into the oncoming Neo-Equalists behind him. Tiki winced theatrically as the action caused a loud thud. She sauntered up to the dizzy Neo-Equalist, standing on his fallen body.

"You know what they say: the bigger and uglier they are, the harder they fall! And I am NOT little!" she protested with a toss of her twin tails, "I am fun-sized!"

"Gotcha!"

Tiki let out a squeak as a Neo-Equalist grabbed her from behind, grinning triumphantly. "We finally caught you, you little pain in the neck!"

"Let me GO!" Tiki exclaimed, throwing her head back to crash into her captor's face. The Neo-Equalist yelped and released her. Tiki took the opportunity to flip away from him and notice, once she landed, that she had satisfactorily broken the Neo-Equalist's nose, and blood was pouring out.

"Get her!" the Neo-Equalist growled, and still more came. Backing away, Tiki eventually found herself back-to-back with the grouchy earthbending boy.

"Got any ideas?" she asked hopefully, gray eyes shifting around and around but finding no gaps in the Neo-Equalists' defenses this time. "Because I'm fresh out."

And once they were disabled, the earthbending boy would probably end up back at the camp he escaped from, and Tiki would end up...

She gulped and willed herself not to think of the possibilities.

As soon as the little airbender had started moving, Syaoran had begun to fight back as well. Rupturing the earth, he'd built up walls, only to find the Neo-Equalists moving above or around them. It was all he could do to bend the stones at them to keep them at bay. Sadly, he had about as much luck as Tiki had, so when they found themselves thoroughly surrounded, his stomach fell.

He could not go back to the camps. Not yet. It was not an option. "Get back!" he commanded, stomping his foot to raise the earth. It was enough to cause some the Neo-Equalists to fly back. It was also enough to send the rest of them leaping in upon them. They were coming from every which way and while he wasn't sure what to do, heat stirred within him again.

"I said GET BACK!"

And that's when it happened. As Syaoran flung his arms out, that's when the fire erupted from him. It was hot and blazing, haphazardly flying in balls everywhere. Several Neo-Equalists fell back, yelping in their burns. The rest stared at him as if he had grown horns. But that wasn't even as bizarre as this scenario. Earth? _And _fire?

"The Avatar?"

The question was breathed around them, ushered by the insanity of the moment. Tiki stared just as much as the Neo-Equalists had when the earthbender had just bended fire. And here she thought he was just some stuffy earthbender boy with no sense of humor. But it turns out that he is the Avatar?

A slow smile crept onto Tiki's face. This guy just might be more interesting than she originally thought.

Even Syaoran looked down at his hands, bewildered and affirmed. So he wasn't hallucinating. He was firebending. And it made him all the more perplexed. So perplexed, in fact, that he did not see the Neo-Equalist coming up behind him.

And thankfully for him, a burst of water pushed past him to knock the Neo-Equalist back.

"Cease and desist!" a new voice bellowed.

Syaoran looked up and around them. The Neo-Equalists were frozen in place, and with good reason. A horde of blue uniform-clad men and women had surrounded them all, crouched and in position to bend—a horde of waterbenders then. So that meant...

"The Resistance…" he breathed.

Hallelujah, the cavalry had arrived. As the Neo-Equalists surrounding them became surrounded by waterbenders, Tiki grinned outright and began making faces once more at the Neo-Equalists.

"Sucks to be you guys!" she taunted, undaunted by the seething looks the Neo-Equalists sent her way. "You're about to get your butts handed to you!"

And, true to Tiki's threat, the Neo-Equalists were overwhelmed in a matter of minutes. Not to say that the Neo-Equalists did not put up a good fight—several waterbenders were put out of commission via chi-blocking. But in the end, after being overwhelmed, the enemy was forced to retreat. Tiki waved after them as they ran, tripping and stumbling over themselves.

"Byyyye~! Don't forget to write!" she bade, giggling to herself. Turning, she tapped the earthbender boy on his shoulder to get his attention. "So, when were you gonna mention that you're the Avatar?" Tiki asked, her head tilted to the side curiously.

Syaoran looked at Tiki, still a little bewildered. "I wasn't sure if I was," he begrudgingly answered, wincing. He dropped off there. One, he wasn't great for conversation, but two, the waterbenders were starting to move toward them.

"Hey, you two all right?" one woman asked, giving them a look over for any visible wounds. "Did they get a hold of either of you?

Syaoran shook his head. "Uh, yeah, we're both fine," he replied. "Neither of us were blocked." While the woman seemed to take this as good news, the elder man next to her seemed highly concentrated still, eyeing Syaoran. "Um, yes, sir?" he asked, feeling uncomfortable under the serious gaze.

The middle-aged waterbender flicked his stare to meet Syaoran's eyes, serious. "Young man, do you realize what you just did back there?" he questioned. Syaoran hesitated, unclear of what the question meant. But he was sure that this man was the one in charge, for it was the same voice that had called out earlier. The brown eyes regarded Syaoran heavily.

"Sikka," he said the woman next to him, stare never leaving Syaoran's, but his lips twitching up to a half grin. "I think we have finally found the Avatar."

"Yep!" Tiki jumped in, gesturing to Syaoran as if he were a grand prize to be won in a game show. "The one and only! Impressive, huh? Try not to drool."

The elder man eyed the young airbender next with his appraising eyes. "And... you are, young lady?" he asked.

Tiki saluted the man with a mock serious face. "I'm Tiki, sir! Tiki Chouko!" she introduced herself. Her lemur, after hiding during the fight, swooped in and landed on her shoulder. "And this is Lili!"

The man's eyes narrowed as he observed Tiki. "Chouko... as in the councilman and councilwoman of the airbenders?" he wanted to know.

The smile Tiki wore faltered. "Uh... yeah, those are my parents," she replied, her voice significantly less cheerful. The waterbender nodded, and the woman named Sikka looked impressed.

"The Choukos are the most influential airbenders known to our community! Oh..." Her voice faltered then. "I'm sorry about their disappearance," she apologized, looking regretful. Tiki's shoulders slumped and she stared down at her sandals.

"Don't mention it," Tiki mumbled, seriously wishing they had not. Why had she given her last name as well? Habit, she supposed. But there was a reason she was trying so hard to break that habit—people knowing who exactly she was not only was dangerous, but painful.

Syaoran spared the little airbender a brief wince before turning back to the waterbenders before them. The woman was named Sikka, apparently, but what of this man who was calling the shots? "So, how are you then? I mean, who are you, sir?" The earthbender felt it was probably safe to assume someone important, so he tried to add courtesy.

The aged man appraised him, crossing his arms across his chest. "Master Sergeant Ransik, commanding officer of the 43rd regiment," he introduced. "And what might your name be, Avatar?"

Syaoran shifted on his feet and scratched at the back of his shaggy head, slightly discomforted by the title. But never would he reveal that to such a proud Resistance soldier. Instead, he bucked up and reached out his hand. "Syaoran. Syaoran Wong."

With a glimmer of a smirk, Ransik received Syaoran's hand, shaking it with a firm grip. But as quick as the moment was, it disappeared and Ransik was all seriousness. "Sikka," he said, turning to the woman at his side, "gather the troops back up. We're heading back now that we know what the disturbance was in these parts."

Sikka gave him an affirmative nod, and after a brief smile and wave to the two younger benders, she left their presence to rally the soldiers. "Avatar Syaoran," Ransik said, peering down at the much younger male. "Would you accompany us back to the Resistance base? I'm sure the general would like to speak with you."

Syaoran certainly was perplexed and antsy. How was he to pull this all off when he had only but just learned of his potential? He was not even sure of how strong the Resistance was, but suddenly he was being thrust into its world. But he did know the war had to end, and he would need someone to teach him each element—that's what the Avatar was supposed to do, right? At least, that's what he recalled from the stories he was told as a child.

"Sure," he agreed after a moment's thought. This seemed to satisfy Ransik, because he nodded back in turn, then turned on his heel, gesturing for them to follow.

"Then come, Avatar Syaoran, and we will return to the base. You can bring your companion along, should you like."

Tiki's eyes immediately began to sparkle at the suggestion.

"Heck yeah! I'm in!" she cheered, leaping and pumping her fist into the air excitedly. "I've never seen a Resistance base before! How big is it? Is it, like, bigger than a row of fifteen sky-bison? Or twenty? Or sixty-five? Or a million? Or three? Oooh! And where are the bases hidden? It's gotta be super, SUPER secret, because I've never found one on my own, and I've been looking FOREVER! Hey, do you guys have tanks? If not, you should _totally_get some! 'Cause then you could do whatever you want! Winning the war would be SO easy, because who the heck's gonna argue with you? You have a tank!"

To say that Tiki was beyond excited to be able to see a real Resistance base would be a tad of an understatement.

Syaoran rolled his eyes and smacked his forehead at the young airbender, but proceeded to follow after Ransik's footsteps. He didn't even know Tiki. But it seemed at least for the time being, he was stuck with her. Ergo, he said not a word to discourage her as they followed after the waterbending soldiers.

After several minutes, they came upon a series of warehouses. Even as they walked inside the nearest one, it seemed abandoned and Syaoran was certainly confused. That is, until Ransik stopped in the center of the room. The company stood at attention, and he looked around. Surely the base was not the warehouse? It was in plain sight!

Sikka must have sensed his thought process, because she leaned over with a small smile. "Just wait a moment," she said with conspiracy in her eyes. At that moment, Ransik stomped on the floor, alternating short stomps and big stomps. Syaoran's confusion increased. The man was a waterbender and clearly not the Avatar; why would he try to seemingly earthbend?

A rumbling commenced and soon the floor beneath them seemed to shake. And it was. It was also moving. Up ahead of Ransik, the floor slid out and revealed a series of stairs. "Metalbenders," Sikka explained, leaning over once more. "They let us in and out."

The cavalry seemed completely in tune to the routine, because when Ransik led them down underground and the floor slid back in place, they were not frightened or confused. And after leading them through a series of tunnels, a light finally shown up ahead. "Avatar Syaoran," Ransik said, looking back at the teen male and gesturing a hand a head, "welcome to Base 2027."

Tiki's jaw dropped and her eyes bugged out.

"Woooooooooooooooooooooow!" she exclaimed, the usually one syllable word stretching into five. "This place is GINORMOUS!"

Indeed it was. For an underground facility, the Resistance certainly had a lot of space to maneuver, a fact they did not ignore. There were benders everywhere, loading up cargo, practicing bending, working on computers—Tiki was impressed that they could get Internet service down here. Everywhere she looked, it was a united front of benders helping benders: Tiki's own personal idea of paradise.

"Whoo-hooo!" she cheered, summoning her air scooter to zoom around and get a closer look at _everything_, with Lili following close behind.

Sikki watched her go, amusement plain on her face. "Your little friend is certainly a ball of energy," she told Syaoran.

Syaoran looked over to Sikka and replied bluntly, "I just met her twenty minutes ago." But when he turned away, he could understand the half-pint's excitement. Truly, the Resistance base was quite something. Built underground, expansive, and only accessible by metalbending—it was thorough and ingenious.

His jade eyes scanned the room. Everyone in the room wore uniforms, though seemingly color coordinated by what sort of bender they were, just like the waterbending soldiers. Waterbenders. Earthbenders. He almost thought he might have seen one or two airbenders in the back corner—or it could have just been Tiki bouncing around. That was also a distinct possibility with a high probability.

"Are there no firebenders here?" he asked, looking to Sikka since Ransik had walked away to speak with another commanding officer.

The woman shook her head. "Oh yes, we have firebenders here. We have a unit in the mixed battalion, but most are in the AKs."

"AKs?" he asked, certainly confused.

Sikka chuckled. "The Agni-Kais. It's a special force made up of only advanced firebenders," she explained. Her brown eyes glanced about the room, looking thoughtful. "Either our AKs are doing special training today in one of the back rooms, or they're out on mission."

"Hey, get down from there!"

Sikka was promptly distracted by a cry from the upper levels of the base. A whirl of white, orange and blue was causing a ruckus up there, and she had a pretty good idea who the whirl was.

"Aw c'mon, lighten up!" Tiki called back to the man shouting at her as she clung to one of the ropes they were using to move cargo, swinging back and forth. "You should try this, it's fun!"

"Who let this kid in here?" an earthbender grumbled. Unfortunately for him, Tiki heard him.

"I am NOT a kid!" Tiki denied, swinging in close to the bender's face before her momentum propelled her backwards, and then forwards once more. "I'm already nineteen!"

The earthbender scoffed. "I'll believe that when I see some ID," he taunted, not actually expecting Tiki to throw her wallet at him and invite him to see for himself. But she did. And he saw. And he could not believe it. "Is this fake?" he wanted to know before Tiki snatched it back and swung backwards again.

"It's real! I am nineteen years old, and therefore a young adult—NOT a kid. So NYEAH!" Tiki stuck her tongue out in the earthbender's face before swinging away again, pushing herself to swing around in a circle because she was already bored of going back and forward. "Whoo-hooooo!" she cheered once more as the rope propelled her faster and faster around and around. But the rope, unused to this type of strenuous activity, began to fray. Before anyone could warn her, the rope snapped completely, and Tiki fell.

She did not panic, though. The air was her domain, after all. Breathing deeply, she loosed a gust of air from her mouth, pushing her away from the rapidly approaching ground and giving her enough gravitational pull to flip through the air and land perfectly on her feet. After sticking her landing, she straightened up and threw her arms into the air.

"TA-DAH!" Tiki announced, her lemur flying over to perch on her head. Complete silence followed her 'performance', and after a moment, everyone simply went about their business, completely ignoring her. Tiki sighed and rubbed the back of her head. "Tough crowd, huh, Lili?" she asked her lemur, who moved down to the airbender's shoulder and gave her cheek a lick. Tiki giggled and scratched behind Lili's ears in return, just the way the lemur liked it.

Syaoran was already smacking his face for even putting up with Tiki thus far. He was going to be introduced as the Avatar, and this was the company he was going to appear with? Somehow he had a feeling that these benders were going to lose their faith in humanity.

Thankfully, he was spared from thinking any more about this ridiculous girl when Ransik strode back over, serious as usual. "Sikka, can you please help with the debriefing?" With a swift nod and reassuring squeeze to Syaoran's shoulder, the woman walked away, leading some of the Resistance members with her. Then Ransik focused back on Syaoran. "Avatar Syaoran, the general would like to meet with you."

Syaoran held his breath, and then exhaled slowly, calming the rush that was pumping through his heart. Only hours ago had he escaped encampment and considered he was the Avatar; now he realized he was the Avatar, and was being thrust into the role so swiftly. So what does he say? "Um, sure."

Ransik nodded, then turned heel. Syaoran was about to follow, but then noticing the ruckus Tiki was making, he sighed heavily. "C'mon, Tiki," he called out. At least spare the other benders from having to deal with her. Tiki, though surprised to be addressed by her actual name—it had been a while—all-too-willingly followed after Syaoran, a bounce in her step as she tagged along. Ransik walked down another series of halls before reaching an office door. Two knocks and the door opened in compliance.

The first thing Syaoran noticed was how it resembled a small war room. A geographical map was laid out on the wall, a series of pins and points strung across it. The desk was made of sheer metal, pristine. However, the man who sat behind it was not, having looked like he'd seen his fair share of battle.

"Meet General Bom Chen," Ransik began to introduce. "General Chen, meet Syaoran Wong, the new Avatar."

Once they were in the new room, Tiki wasted no time in looking around, her mouth open once more as she did so. When Ransik introduced the imposing man sitting behind the desk, Tiki could not help but burst into laughter.

"Bom Chen?" she asked, still in the middle of her giggle fit. "What a silly name! It sounds like the sounds a drummer makes when he hits the bass drum and then the snare if you say it really fast, listen: bom chen bom chen bom chen bom chen! Seriously, you should join a band and then say your name over and over again really fast, you'll be a hit!"

The general raised an eyebrow at the chattering airbender. "And... you are?"

"I'm Tiki!" Tiki announced, striking a pose. "Tiki Ch—uh, and this is my lemur, Lili!" Tiki swiftly cut herself off and introduced her lemur instead. No need to have a repeat of the conversation she and Sikka just had.

Clearly the general was not enthused by Tiki's introduction, but nonetheless seemed to be taking it with grace. Or at least, more than Syaoran was feeling at that exact moment. He was already questioning himself again why he decided to spare the other benders. His head was going to start throbbing soon.

"It's nice to meet you, General," he finally spoke aloud and, with a delayed realization, bowing to show respect. The elder lowered his head in return.

"As I am to meet you, Avatar," General Chen responded. He was stocky and much older than the other benders, that much Syaoran could tell. But there was something in his eye that was youthful, vibrant. The scar by his left eye made Syaoran feel like at some point, this man had been on the front lines. "So, tell me, Syaoran," he started again with a curious gaze, "You're the Avatar. Where have you been all this time? You are old enough to have been fighting for years, but why surface now?"

Of course the uncomfortable questions were to come first. Syaoran bit the inside of his lip and stood up taller. "Well, I've been in one of the concentration camps for the past few years," Syaoran started, trying not to recall the pained expressions of his family as he did, "and until a few hours ago, I… I didn't know I was the Avatar."

The general looked to Ransik. His eyebrow was quirked, a question on his mind. Ransik nodded. "He is the Avatar," the waterbender answered knowingly. "He's an earthbender, but he also let loose a canon of firebending, the first element after earth in the cycle."

General Chen appraised Syaoran again. "Well, then if that's the case, I do believe that you have a lot to learn in order to be useful in this war, wouldn't you?" he inquired amiably. Syaoran grimaced a little, but nonetheless nodded. "Then we will need to find you some teachers." The general looked warily over at Tiki and stared for a moment before turning back to Syaoran. "Please..." he started in more hushed tones behind a secretive hand, "tell me this is not the airbending teacher you've selected."

Tiki instantly scowled. Why did everyone insist on underestimating her? Sure, it helped a lot when her enemies did because she had an easier time taking them down, but still, it got insulting after a while.

"I _heard_that!" Tiki informed the general, "and just what is that supposed to mean? I am a perfectly capable airbender! I could knock this whole place down if I wanted to!"

The general looked highly doubtful, but Ransik cleared his throat and spoke up on Tiki's behalf.

"Tiki is the daughter of the Choukos," he re-introduced the airbender. General Chen's eyebrows rose even higher.

"Are you telling me this girl is related to Avatar Aang?" he questioned Ransik, throwing a disbelieving glance at her. Tiki, for her part, uncharacteristically rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh. Then the airbender reached around her neck and undid the beaded chain around her neck, pulling into view an ancient talisman that was hidden by her shirt until now. She tossed the relic at General Chen, who effortlessly caught it and studied the insignia on the back of the talisman. Abruptly, his whole demeanor changed. "I don't believe it... This is—"

"—an ancient Eastern Air Temple talisman," Tiki finished for the general, snatching her talisman back and re-securing it around her neck. "One that belonged to my great, great grandfather, Avatar Aang." Tiki crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows at the general. "Any more questions?" she asked, though she suspected not.

Even Syaoran stared at the girl a little funny now. The last name had meant nothing to him earlier, but now? Sure, there was a great chance that, considering all of the few airbenders in the world had come from Avatar Aang, that there's obviously some that would come from the direct line. He just never imagined it would be—well, for lack of better words—the oddball shrimp.

After a moment, General Chen seemed to shake this news off, redirecting his attention back to Syaoran. "Well, it seems we may have a teacher for you for airbending." He coughed with a furtive glance to Tiki. "And I am sure Ransik here would be happy to teach you when it comes time to tackle waterbending."

The marine turned to Syaoran and nodded. "It would be my honor if you chose me when it came time." But then Ransik looked back to the general, concerned. "But sir, fire is the first element to tackle," he noted. "Who shall teach him that?"

That was when General Chen's lip curled up and he chuckled. "I think I have somebody in mind."

"The Lieutenant?"

"The Lieutenant."

* * *

**A/N from Eva: Can I just say how freaking excited I am right now? Because I am. DJ and I have worked our butts off on this story, and it has quite literally taken over everything we know and love. We can't listen to music anymore without texting each other and going, "HOLY CRAP TELL ME THIS SONG DOES NOT FIT THIS CHARACTER!" It's bad, but it's hilarious. :P ALSO, shout out to the one follower we've gained so far, andreas bruckert! Believe us when we say you are greatly appreciated! Anyway, hope you guys liked the chapter! Leave us a review to tell us how you liked it!**


	3. The Lieutenant

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One-Fire**

**By Twins of the Pen**

******Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

* * *

The Lieutenant? Tiki's mouth twisted down. Oh great, another stuffy military type. Seriously, this place was boring her to tears, and she was certain that she would not be allowed to swing around on the ropes again, after she accidentally broke one. While seeing the base was awesome, its splendor had worn off faster than expected. Tiki longed to be somewhere else, but of course that was not an option right now, and apparently, she already had a commitment to the Avatar (though she had no idea where the general got the idea of her wanting to teach the Avatar airbending).

"Well then, where is this 'Lieutenant'?" Tiki wanted to know, tilting her head to the side. The sooner they found this guy, the faster they could get out of here... and the faster the war would be over, Tiki supposed. She had not thought about that aspect, but once she had, the idea of teaching the Avatar airbending was slowly becoming more appealing.

Syaoran noticed the look exchanged between Ransik and General Chen at Tiki's question and his face contorted with curious confusion. Ransik spoke first. "General, is the lieutenant even available to be the Avatar's teacher?" he asked, arms crossed and eyebrow piqued. "The AKs have been doing so well..."

"Lieutenant Tsong will become available to teach the Avatar," General Chen cut in with a wave of his hand. "We need to give the Avatar the best we have to offer, and we have no better firebender here to teach him."

Syaoran looked at the two men uncertainly. "Uh, hey, is there a problem with Lieutenant Tsong teaching me?" he queried, noting how they seemed to beating around the bush on the matter. But before either man could respond to him, the door bust open. A frantic, but energized earthbender stood in the doorway, breathing heavily.

"Officer! What in blazes do you think you're doing?" General Chen bellowed with narrow eyes at the young man.

"I'm sorry, General!" the bender proclaimed, his chest heaving. "But the AKs are back!"

While Syaoran found nothing significant in this sentence, Ransik and General Chen seemed to, because they stared at the young man with bated breath.

"And?" Ransik prompted with intense eyes.

That's when the biggest smile spread across the earthbender's face. "They succeeded! They drove the enemy forces back! We now have secured the south side of Omashu!"

Tiki let out a low whistle, now seated on top of one of the general's high shelves. Her short legs swung back and forth as she looked down at the rest of them, feeling like a giant. It was a very good feeling.

"That's no easy feat, from what I understand," she chimed in while scratching Lili behind the ears, "My dad always said that Omashu is a fortress, and whoever holds the power there basically has the upper hand on whatever enemy tries to take Omashu down."

"Yes, that is precisely—_what are you doing up there?_" the general demanded after finally noticing the new perch Tiki had placed herself on. She gave him her kitty grin.

"I got bored," she said simply before letting out a gigantic sneeze that blew all the general's paperwork around the room. "You don't dust up here very often, do you?" she added as she rubbed a finger under her nose.

The general sighed and turned back to the earthbending officer. "Officer, please summon Lieutenant Tsong to my office immediately. We have much to discuss."

"Yes, sir!" the officer saluted before running off.

"It seems you will meet your firebending teacher sooner than expected, Avatar," Ransik mused out loud to Syaoran.

"I think that's good?" Syaoran guessed to Ransik, still uncertain as to the reason behind Ransik and the general's meaningful glances. Ransik chuckled.

"It's definitely good. Lieutenant Tsong is an excellent firebender and a fantastic teacher. Just..."

"You'll be run into the ground," the general cut in with a smirk. "I hope you can take a hard day's work, Avatar."

Syaoran nodded slowly. He'd grown up on the farm. Hard work was a fact of life, even if it had been a while since he'd had to do it. At one point, it had been a begrudging part of routine, so he could deal with it. If someone as off the wall as Tiki—or Tiki—was going to try teaching him anything, he would consider claiming insanity. The routine he was used to had order.

His jade eyes clouded for a moment, thinking back to the family that had taught him hard work, the family he'd left behind. He though of his mother, holding his crying sister as the Neo-Equalists enclosed around them as he sprinted away. But he could not dwell any longer, because soon there was a knock at the door, followed by the creaking it made as it opened.

"You requested to see me, sir?"

Syaoran was seriously disrupted. Turning to the doorway, he found to his surprise a young lady there. Unlike the other uniforms he had seen before, she bore a smoky grey and black camouflaged uniform, her raven hair pulled back. A few strands hung near her golden eyes, calm and serious as she entered the office.

General Chen smiled and gestured a hand toward her. "Meet Lieutenant ZanYi Tsong."

"Woo, girl power!" Tiki cheered—quite randomly—from high atop the shelf she still sat upon. "Hey, General Bass and Snare! How come you didn't mention the lieutenant was a woman?"

The general glanced up at Tiki, looking quite put out with her already. "I didn't feel the need to, I suppose," he answered the curious airbender. "Regardless of her gender, Lieutenant Tsong is an excellent firebender as well as a talented lieutenant."

Tiki leapt down from the shelf, landing perfectly on her feet. Heading towards ZanYi, the airbender stood on her tip-toes in order to get a better look at the lieutenant.

"...You know, you look familiar," Tiki mused once she had gotten her close look. A finger tapped her chin as she stared at the ceiling and thought. "Your name is Tsong, right? Where have I heard that name before...?"

It was on the tip of Tiki's tongue. Her parents had once discussed the Tsong family, and they were important for some reason... but what was it? Tiki pounded a fist into her forehead.

"Think, think, think," she urged herself, struggling to remember. What was it about the Tsong family that made them so special?

ZanYi looked down at Tiki as if she were some kind of animal, rabid as she bounced around the office. However, the lieutenant looked right over her to meet eyes with General Chen. "I appreciate the praise, but why have I been summoned?" she asked directly.

Ransik chuckled. "Always cutting to the chase, Lieutenant. Don't you ever turn off military mode? Especially after your great victory," he jested. ZanYi scoffed.

"I'll turn off when you and Sikka finally fess up to each other," she quipped back. Ignoring Ransik's patronizing gaze and crossing her arms, she focused again on the general, feeling no need to restate her initial question. General Chen chuckled.

"Lieutenant Tsong, we have found the Avatar."

Her golden eyes flared, but she quickly recovered, a new fever in her gaze. "Where?" she demanded.

"Right here," Syaoran spoke up, waving a small hand her way. The lieutenant stared at him, as if he were something that was not to exist. "And I hear you're going to be my firebending teacher."

This, in turn, made ZanYi round back on the general seated on his cushy seat. "I'm what? But the AKs—"

"—will be fine under the care of your second in command," General Chen cut off. He steepled his fingers, regarding ZanYi seriously now. "The Avatar needs to learn firebending and you're the best we've got."

"With all due respect, sir—"

"Lieutenant Tsong, this is going to be an order," he bottom-lined. Syaoran could tell she wanted to say more, but she clenched her mouth at the command. "We need the Avatar to be the best he can be. You have personally trained many of those under you in the AKs, and considering your heritage, it would only be fitting."

At the word 'heritage', Tiki's brain finally spat out the answer she had been looking for.

"I got it!" She announced, slamming the side of her fist into her open palm before pointing a finger at ZanYi. "You're from the Royal Family of the Fire Nation!" How cool! Tiki grinned her kitty grin. "Having two master benders as teachers! Looks like you're in good hands, huh, Syaoran?" She gave the Avatar a half-hug of excitement before a loud rumbling distracted her... a rumbling that seemed to be emanating from her small frame.

"Oops... guess I should have finished the cabbage," Tiki mumbled, having the decency to blush. "You guys got anything edible around here?" she asked the room at large. "Syaoran's probably pretty hungry too; I suspect his tummy rumbling was how the Neo-Equalists found us in the first place. You wouldn't want your Avatar to _starve_, would you?"

Syaoran and ZanYi gazed at each other, silent in their analyses. What the lieutenant saw was a kid who had no idea what was going on, but was deciding to go with it. What the Avatar saw was a woman who clearly worked hard and comes from a proud heritage. Both were mostly right.

"No, we need to start immediately," ZanYi declared, straightening up.

"But Lieutenant, the boy just escaped from encampment—"

"Ransik, the Avatar is under my charge and I need to see what he's capable of so we can begin," ZanYi cut him off. Looking at Syaoran, she inquired, "How much firebending have you been able to perform?"

"Only twice," he grimaced, knowing how that sounded. "Both on accident and it rained fireballs, to be specific." Syaoran could not read the look on his new master's face, but it seemed at the very least contemplative, as if she were processing and already planning the best way to train him.

Eventually she spoke again, this time to the elder man at the desk. "General Chen," ZanYi began, "can we have some rations to go? I know where to take the Avatar to begin his training. He can eat on the way."

"You plan on taking him out of the compound?" Ransik questioned, as if challenging the decision of the much younger leader. "Knowing that word must be traveling to the enemy forces now that the Avatar has finally surfaced?"

ZanYi nodded. "Yes, I do. He will be under my charge and at a secure location. If what he says is true, his firebending is too volatile to keep him in the base at the present moment. I could invite you to join us, should you like to be another set of eyes and my fire extinguisher."

Rolling his eyes at the last remark, Ransik did concede to the terms, however. "Fine, I will accompany you all."

"Splendid." The faces in the room turned back to the general, who seemed quite content with this turn of events. "You will get the rations on your way out, Lieutenant," he agreed, "and you will be back by sundown."

ZanYi nodded. "Yes, sir." Moving to the door, she looked back and nudged, "Let's go. We're burning daylight." And if Syaoran didn't know any better, he would have thought he saw a smirk on the lieutenant's face. A feeling boiled in his gut and Syaoran knew that this was going to become the beginning of a series of long days ahead of him. It almost made him question his judgment.

"Yes! Fresh air!" the tiny airbender rejoiced, however, grabbing a hold of Syaoran's arm and tugging him along. "C'mon, Lili!" Tiki called to her lemur, which was gnawing on one of the figurines on the general's desk. At her master's call, however, the lemur took flight and followed after the bouncing ball of energy that was Tiki.

* * *

"Wooooooooow!" Tiki ended up saying for the second time that day. It turns out the 'secure location' the lieutenant was referring to was an area with a waterfall! It was a small clearing, surrounded by heavy woodland. The crystal waters fell from the face of a cliff at their said, pooling thunderously at the bottom.

'_Probably to put out whatever Syaoran might accidentally set on fire,_' Tiki thought to herself with a giggle. Removing her clothes until she was in her bare essentials, Tiki balled herself up in preparation to do a cannon ball, but then thought better of it and settled for simply wading in. After all, she did not know how deep the water was. Better safe than sorry.

"Is this really necessary?" Syaoran questioned, coming to the same realization as Tiki. Surely the abundance of water was not for aesthetic purposes. Suddenly he understood what the lieutenant had meant when she considered him volatile. And Syaoran was not amused.

"Yes, this is really necessary," ZanYi answered without missing a beat, walking past him to the nearest tree. "Firebending is the most dangerous when people have no idea what they are doing." The lieutenant took her flak jacket off and laid it at the tree roots. She had not even had time to debrief her team, let alone get rid of her equipment. Looks like she was going to be collapsing late tonight.

As she proceeded to disrobe, Syaoran quickly found himself looking elsewhere out of respect. His mother would beat him for looking. Ransik seemed to find this amusing. "She's not exactly shy," he chuckled from the Avatar's side. "You can look back now you know."

Glancing back to his new teacher, he found ZanYi had only continued to strip out of her uniform jacket. Baggy cargos, combat boots, and a cropped tank-top. Syaoran felt a little foolish then, realizing she'd had another shirt on under her jacket. Instead, he had to face ZanYi's quirked brow.

"Problem, Avatar?" she asked, resting her hands on her sides. Ransik had to stifle back his laughter and Syaoran shot him a dirty look.

"Can we just get started?" he responded, turning back Lieutenant Tsong.

"Good luck, Syaoran!" Tiki called from the water, enjoying the cool sensation on her skin. She turned over to float on her back, the sun shining on her closed eyelids as she floated aimlessly. How long had it been since she had gone swimming? About ten years, maybe. The last time she was able to swim without a care in the world, her parents were still around...

'_Don't think about it_,' Tiki scolded herself, sitting up... and suddenly discovering that her feet no longer touched the bottom.

And that's when the panic began to set in.

"Oh, no… oh no, help! HELP!" Tiki cried, flailing around. Lili, alerted by her master's cries, flew over and attempted to save Tiki, but no matter how hard she tugged, the lemur could not pull Tiki up. Lili could only circle high above her master's head, crying out to get the other humans' attention.

ZanYi turned to the flailing Tiki, curiosity in her eyes. "Avatar," she said, getting the young earthbender's attention. The lieutenant nodded her head towards the water. "Do you think your friend there is in trouble?" ZanYi asked.

At the question, Syaoran gazed out to the pooled water, a brow quirked. The way Tiki was flailing about, he supposed that could have been construed. Or she could be playing with her flying lemur. That was equally possible. "I'm not entirely sure," he answered honestly, squinting more at the sight before him.

By this point, Ransik was looking too, equally confused. "I think... she's playing with her lemur?" he guessed, shrugging mildly. "When people drown, you generally can't tell because they're trying to stay afloat, not obviously. My guess goes to the lemur as well."

However, ZanYi focused more on the scene in the water, trying to make sure. Granted, a distraction was completely unneeded, but if the girl was drowning by her own hand, ZanYi sure didn't want it to be on her watch. "I'm not so sure about that…"

Tiki was beginning to inhale water, and the strength in her arms and legs was fading fast. No matter how hard she kicked and flailed to stay afloat, she still sank beneath the water, her panic spiking as the surface began to slip away.

Was this how she was going to die? Drowning in a lake with a waterfall while the Avatar was too busy learning firebending to notice she needed help? Yeah, _that _would be an interesting blight in the history of Avatars: 'Avatar Syaoran fails to rescue the ancestor of Avatar Aang!' Tiki squeezed her eyes shut as the last of her air left her lungs. If she had to die, she just wished Death would hurry up and whisk her away to the Spirit World... where her parents may or may not be waiting for her.

And something did whisk her away... just not in a way she expected. The next thing Tiki knew, she was feeling fresh air again, and the water was being forced out of her lungs. She coughed and sputtered, clutching onto the arm around her as if it were her life, which would slip away again if she did not hold on as tight as her tiny frame would allow.

"Easy, there," a deep voice soothed, and Tiki looked up through her dripping bangs to see a large man hovering over her, his ice blue eyes displaying concern as he looked down at her. "You all right, little one?" he asked, setting her down on the ground.

"Not—" Tiki paused to cough, "—little." Her gray eyes were wide as she stared up at the man. "But... thank you."

The man grinned, his teeth gleaming in the sunlight. "Happy to help," he said, ruffling Tiki's wet hair. He glanced up at the party before him, assuming they were the girl's guardians. "A word of advice: the lake there is deeper in some parts than it is in others, so you might want to watch out for little kids when they decide to swim."

"I'm _not _a little kid!" Tiki protested with a pout, though she still desperately clung to the man. He let out a chuckle.

"Whatever you say, kid," he replied.

Syaoran's eyes widened. Granted, they all thought Tiki was a little kid, but compared to her savior, it's absolutely no wonder why he would think so. The man was a giant, quite literally. It was like a hulk of massive muscles and body next to Tiki's small frame. So he evaded the issue entirely by moving over to the sopping wet Tiki, kneeling at her side.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, some concern in his jade eyes. It would not have been good for his track record as Avatar to begin with a casualty, even if it was Tiki's foolishness. It made him feel a bit guilty. "Sorry. We couldn't tell."

Tiki nodded as she wrung out her twin tails, wanting to rid her body of as much water as was possible.

"S'okay," she assured Syaoran with a sheepish smile, "but I guess I'm not going swimming again any time soon."

However, Ransik and ZanYi were still sizing up the man before them. Their eyes mirrored similar skeptic gazes, debating what to think of the behemoth. "I guess we should thank you," the lieutenant started, "for saving her." She started to walk up to him, but Ransik, on the other hand, was tense and watchful. His fingers twitched at the ready, and water began to rise from the pool.

"Lieutenant, tread carefully," he warned, wary of the stranger.

ZanYi paid him no heed. "Man down, Master Sergeant," she ordered without a glance back. She had her eyes set on the stranger in their midst. "If he was a Neo-Equalist, he would have already moved in." Reaching out her hand to the man, she said to him, "Thank-you."

Since Tiki had released him, the man stood up to his full height, towering over ZanYi and Ransik. But his smile took the edge off his height, and he gave ZanYi's hand a firm shake.

"No problem," he replied. "And you're right, I'm not a Neo-Equalist. I was actually just passing through when I saw the little lady drowning."

"Okay, listen up, you freakishly tall person," Tiki spoke up, glaring up at the behemoth, "for the last time, I am _not_ little."

Even as he stood up, Syaoran could not help but stare. The man could not be human, could he? After all, humans couldn't be as tall as trees. Everyone literally was little to the giant. While Syaoran seemed to find Tiki ridiculous, he did have to silently agree with her assessment.

"Everyone's little to me, Shrimp," the man replied with a wink to Tiki. Tiki could not help but giggle. "I'm Shun, by the way. Shun Jiang. I don't know what you guys are up to out here, but I'd try to keep it quiet."

A frown twisted the corners of Shun's mouth down. "Not a lot of places are safe nowadays," he warned darkly.

"Not many places are safe these days," Ransik agreed, coming up on ZanYi's side, "which is why I told you we shouldn't bring him out here." He gave her a pointed look, but once again, she waved it away.

"Bringing him out here was not the issue, but rather the girl's inability to swim," she dismissed. "If anything, she needs to be taken back and I'll stay here with the him."

Syaoran looked between Ransik and ZanYi, mildly annoyed and fairly concerned. "Does the Avatar get a say? I'd rather not be picked up by Neo-Equalists, if you don't mind."

Ransik and ZanYi looked at each other with exasperation. Last thing they needed was further word to get out that the Avatar was found, especially before he was ready. And there the boy goes blabbing it to the world. "You will not get picked up by NEs, not on my watch," ZanYi promised with a roll of her eyes.

Her associate in arms nodded. "Lieutenant's right; being with her is about as safe as you can be out in these parts without having an entire company with you."

Syaoran looked at her skeptically, and she returned the look, a challenge. Digesting Ransik's praise and considering how proficient he was in saving him before, the Avatar decided to accept this assessment and looked away from the challenge.

"The Avatar?"

Suddenly Shun was looking at the younger boy—an earthbender recently escaped from the camps, judging from his shoddy attire—in a whole new light. He stuck out a large hand for Syaoran to shake.

"It is an honor to meet you," he said fervently, a delighted grin on his face. "Knowing you're alive and well gives me more hope than you can imagine."

Shun took a moment to look over the company the Avatar was in. The woman the other waterbender—Shun could tell from the irregular waves in the water next to them—had referred to as 'Lieutenant' was obviously a firebender, and the little girl that kept insisting she wasn't little... once the lemur flew over, Shun knew she was an airbender.

"Well, you're all a bit of a rag-tag group, aren't you?" he noted with a smile.

"The lieutenant's trying to teach Syaoran firebending," Tiki informed Shun as she pulled on the clothes Lili helpfully brought back to her. "Ransik is here to serve as a fire extinguisher, should things get... out of hand."

"Smart," Shun agreed, still grinning.

"And insulting," Syaoran added in a low mumble, looking to ZanYi again in disapproval. She paid him no heed.

"A necessary precaution since you're just starting out. From what Ransik tells me, you were dropping fireballs like fireworks on Liberation Day," she quipped, glancing over at him only for a moment. Syaoran wanted to deny this claim, but sadly found himself unable to; he could be stubborn, but a liar he could not be.

ZanYi was about to turn away from him, only when she saw the water a-stir in the pool. "Ransik," she scolded, looking at the commander with shrewd eyes. "No one here is a threat. Calm yourself." She could tell the man was not happy to hear the orders, but as they were orders, he had to stand down.

"Well, we should either get to work or go back then. The longer we're out here, the more likely we are to be sitting ducks," he countered, choosing to cross his arms.

"Someone's a little paranoid," Tiki noticed, now well enough to poke just a bit of fun at Ransik. "Lieutenant Tsong said it was a secure location, didn't she?"

"It isn't very secure if some random individual, who happened to be 'passing by', can just waltz in, is it?" Ransik pointed out, a bite to his tone.

Shun blinked. The reason the elder waterbender was so wound up... was because of him?

"If my presence is making you uncomfortable, I'd be happy to leave," he offered, but a sudden clutching at his leg distracted Shun from Ransik. He looked down and found the little airbender attached to his leg, looking up at him with a pleading expression.

"Don't go! What if I fall in the water and nobody realizes I'm drowning again?" she asked, genuine fear in her tone. Despite her fussing, Shun couldn't help but chuckle at Tiki.

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Shrimp. Something like that couldn't happen twice in one day," he assured Tiki, but she still would not let go of his leg. "Besides, I really do have to get going. I just have to grab my satchel and—"

Shun looked about him, his face becoming perplexed. "—if I can just remember where I put it..." he mumbled to himself, a hand rubbing the scruff on his jaw as he thought. "Now let's see... I was riding by when I saw the waterfall, decided to take a swim, and just as I took off my jacket, I saw the girl drowning—"

"Hey," Tiki interrupted him, now standing and looking out over the surface of the lake, "that satchel you're looking for... would it happen to be that one?"

Shun looked out to where Tiki was pointing. Sure enough, he recognized the satchel floating out in the water near where he dove in to save Tiki. A sigh escaped him at the sight.

"I knew I should have gotten the water-proof one," Shun grumbled before he sank into a low stance, working his arms smoothly in a beckoning motion. At once, waves sprung from the surface of the lake, working their way to the bank Shun and the others stood. Shun's satchel was ferried across the waves, and the large man plucked it out of the water as soon as it was close enough to him. As he sorted through the belongings in his bag with a frown, Tiki looked at him with wide eyes.

"You are the _biggest_ waterbender I have _ever _seen," she commented. Shun grinned.

"I get that a lot," he replied.

"Well there you go, Ransik," the lieutenant said, gesturing to Shun, "We now have another fire extinguisher. Therefore we are within every right to actually start practice." ZanYi crossed her arms with a pointed look at her comrade in arms.

Sadly, the man had no argument to that, just a responsive and cursory look over at the foreign waterbender in their midst. "North or South?"

"You've got to be kidding me, Ransik."

"It's just a question."

ZanYi rolled her eyes and held a halting hand up to him. "Enough. Can we just get back to work? Syaoran?"

Seeing as the brief interruption of Tiki's near-drowning was over, Syaoran nodded. "Yes, Lieutenant," he complied, moving to follow her as she departed from the group into a wider expanse of space. "So, um, what first?"

"First nothing," ZanYi averted, looking at him curiously. "I want to you to answer me this: the times that you did manage to produce fire, what were you feeling?"

"Feeling?" Syaoran was utterly confused. What did feeling have to do with bending? It was technical. "Um, mad, I guess?" he answered, not entirely sure what to say. His teacher seemed to weigh this in her mind before turning to Ransik and Shun over on the sidelines.

"I think we're going to need both of you as fire extinguishers, because I intend on making the Avatar very mad."

Syaoran didn't like the sound of that. Not one bit.

"That doesn't sound good," Tiki piped up, her eyes wide and curious. "How're you gonna do that?"

"However she plans to do it, I think we'd better take a step back," Shun suggested. He then proceeded to take his own advice and hopped into the shallow end of the lake, positioning himself so he was ready to bend at any given moment. "Oh, and I hail from the Northern tribe, sir," Shun added in an aside to Ransik. "Though I must admit it's been a while since I have seen my home."

"I know how that feels..." Tiki interjected, her twin tails visibly drooping at the thought of her now abandoned home in the east. She had long ago lost the hope of ever returning: if her parents weren't there, it just wasn't home anymore.

Shun gazed at Tiki's back, knowing not what her troubles were but knowing she was in pain. He reached up and patted her shoulder, still able to look down at her.

"Have hope, kid," he urged with a smile, "things aren't always as bad as they seem."

Tiki managed a tiny smile at his encouragements. "I hope you're right," she wished before stepping out from under Shun's grasp. "But in the meantime, I'm gonna be over here: _away _from the water."

"Fair enough," Shun answered with a chuckle.

Ransik mulled over Shun's answer, but he had no time to dwell on it. He knew what was to come. From time to time, the lieutenant had used the same technique on beginning firebenders. And it could get ugly. "Taking a step back is a very good idea." The elder moved to the water as well, keeping himself rooted in water.

"What is—?"

But Syaoran didn't get a chance to finish his question, because that's when he saw the bright colors and heat of fire being blasted. Right at him.

* * *

**A/N from DJ: Hey all! So, let me just say that we am completely stoked to already have readers already. This is just awesome for us, since this story and the characters have become our babies. Seriously, thank you for the support already! Eva and I really hope that you continue to enjoy their journey! So, without further adieu, let's go into the shoutouts!**

**InfernoLeo9: Thanks for the alert and the review! Hope you'll continue to watch and read with great anticipation! **

**MPeacock: Thanks for the favorite and the review! Thanks so much for your high praises! It means so much to us to hear that you love this-and Tiki. She's quite the character with quite a lot in store for her!**

**Djinfiend: Thanks for the review and the favorite! We're so glad you are enraptured by this and we really hope to keep to your expectations! Also, thanks for being our first review! That's awesome!**

**Greeneyedperspective: Thanks for the favorite! Hope we get to hear from you soon, because we'd love to know what you think-though I guess you kinda have to like us, since you favorited this xD**

**Thanks again to all of our readers! We hope to keep this up to be weekly for now-we just want hope we can keep this momentum! xP All the same, enjoy and we look forward to hearing from you! Also, now that several characters have been introduced, I am now putting up my deviantArt link on the author's page. All of the art listed there for "The Warring Earth" was done by me, so it's not amazing, but it's there for funsies. Enjoy and talk to you soon!  
**


	4. The First Lesson

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire **

**By Twins of the Pen**

******Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

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As soon as Syaoran saw the fire blazing towards him, he was ducking for cover, a burst of flames barely missing his scalp. He looked up at his teacher just as she shot another burst at him. Syaoran ducked and rolled to his side, rounding up to his feet. "What are you doing?" he shouted, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears.

ZanYi began to spring towards him, punching fire in bursts so quick he could barely dodge them all. With a grunt and stomp, Syaoran raised up a wall before him. "What kind of training is this?!"

"You said you're the Avatar." The rough female voice came from above. He looked up startled to find her standing tall on his wall. Her eyes were suddenly cold, rigid. "Prove it." With a leap and a whirling flurry of kicks, she slammed fire down upon him. He stumbled back, a burn on his arm notwithstanding.

Instinctively, he began to raise the earth, chucking rocks at his new teacher. "I-don't-know-how!" Syaoran yelled between rocks. How was he supposed to show her firebending if she hadn't taught him any? This made no sense to him and he was about to be pummeled.

"But you're the Avatar! What if you didn't know until now because you weren't meant to be it? What if you're not worthy of being the Avatar?!" ZanYi leaped over the airborne rocks, swiping blades of fire at him. "You can't even save a girl from drowning! How can you save the world? Save your family?"

It was those final words that brought him down. His family. His mother. His sister. His father on his sickbed. The ones that loved him, believed in him.

"Shut-up!"

And that's when it happened. What were supposed to be shards of earth were balls of fire, his eyes ablaze. Soon he was moving quickly as well, swiping blindly at his teacher. ZanYi continued to evade the short, erratic bursts. But when she saw the outrage manifest in a large stream of fire, that's when she knew to take cover. Flipping out of harm's way, she yelled, "Now!"

Quickly conjuring up the water around him, Ransik throttled the Avatar with a vast spray, sufficiently cooling the boy down quite literally.

Shun held back, knowing that Ransik had everything covered. Besides, he didn't want to drown the poor boy. There was something else he could do to help, however.

"Hold still a second," the large waterbender requested, heading over to where the Avatar now stood sopping wet. Shun was grasping a ball of water as he approached, and he set to work on healing the burn on Syaoran's arm with said water.

"You're a healer, too? Cool!" Tiki chirped, watching Shun work. He smiled, but kept his eyes on his task.

"It's a handy skill to have when you're out on your own," he said, his smile growing satisfied when the burn completely disappeared. "There, good as new."

"You know, he's probably gonna get a lot more like those when training with Miss Guns Blazing over there," Tiki pointed out, indirectly informing Shun that healing just one burn was only the beginning.

"Looks like I have my work cut out for me, then," Shun replied, and then returned to the water at Ransik's side. "Ready when you are, Lieutenant."

Tiki smartly skipped out of the way as well, choosing instead to watch high from a treetop. She just hoped that Syaoran wouldn't get too out of control and set the whole forest on fire. Two waterbenders notwithstanding, a forest fire would take a while to completely put out.

Sopping wet and completely incredulous, Syaoran jumped to his feet. Bewilderment was clearly displayed on his face. "What are you doing? That wasn't training! That was a full-on assault!" he declared, staring wide back at her eyes. The gold didn't even flinch from his jade.

"What made you finally snap?" she asked, ignoring his question and resting her hands on her sides.

"I don't know!" he replied in exasperation, tempted to throw his hands in the air in frustration. Just what was this woman getting at? "I guess... not being able to save my family?" The admission cost him a little, and he boiled again on the inside. Knowing his family was suffering and being able to do nothing at the present time... it hurt him so badly. To his surprise, the lieutenant didn't yell or berate him again.

"Then continue to think of them this time. Think about what they're going through, what they must be feeling right now, where they are," she said, her foot sliding back marginally. It foreshadowed what was to follow. "And with those thoughts, channel them into your bending."

And thus she struck again. Shooting discs of fury, she fired away at the sapling Avatar. More prepared, Syaoran ducked and weaved, raising stone to block the flames. Even as she continued to fling flames at him, he hid behind his stones, retaliating with it as well.

"Concentrate, Avatar!" she yelled. The lieutenant flipped over his walls and came up behind him. "Think about your family!"

Syaoran finally did as she demanded. His sister's crying face. His mother clinging to her just as the Neo-Equalists moved in. So just as ZanYi was about to blast him with another set of flames, he exploded again, this time, raining fire everywhere. He roared.

And while this was enough for the lieutenant to smirk, it was also an unpredictable explosion. So even she was blasted back by the flames, unable to complete avoid it. "Ransik!"

This time, the cry was unnecessary, because the elder waterbender snaked the water at his feet to fall down on the Avatar and make it rain all around the ground, putting out several small fires on the ground.

"Lieutenant Tsong!" he called out, seeing the woman on her knee, a hand clasped to her forearm.

She looked at him without a single worry. "Don't be such a worrywart, Ransik," she advised him, rising to her feet. "It's just a burn. I've had worse from some of the younger rookies."

Syaoran sat up after his second dousing, eyes wide as he saw the burn on his teacher's arm. "I did that?" he asked, searching her face. She waved it away.

"Once we teach you how to control your fire, we'll be fine. For now, you need help even accessing it."

"Can I call a time-out?" Shun asked, his eyes focused on the now-injured lieutenant. Ransik, however, shook his head with a knowing look.

"Don't even bother," he answered the younger waterbender. "Once she gets going, she won't stop until she's too tired to move. One little burn like that isn't going to slow her down."

Ransik muttered something else Shun couldn't hear. From the expression on his face, Shun guessed that the elder waterbender could get a tad put out with the woman he addressed as lieutenant.

"That's a little unhealthy," Shun acknowledged, peering worriedly over at ZanYi.

Ransik shrugged. "She's 'The Lieutenant'," he replied, as if that were an explanation in itself.

"Go, Syaoran!" Tiki cheered from her tree, jumping up and down on one of the sturdier limbs. "Show Miss Hot Pants what you're made of!"

Tiki thought she would be bored, but this was actually kind of fun. It was incredibly impressive to watch the earthbender boy rain fire, though it was a little out of control. He hadn't torched anything yet, though, so that was good.

Syaoran gave Tiki a thumbs-up absentmindedly, still staring at his teacher. "Just how many more times am I going to have to get drenched before you actually teach me how to control this?" he queried, shaking the water from his arms and hair.

However, again, the lieutenant ignored his question. "What is fire, Syaoran?" she asked him instead. And he could only stare blankly at her. Seriously? What was with the questions?

"Hot?"

ZanYi snickered, as if expecting the answer. "Close: it's heat," she replied. Emulating the flames to her hand, she continued, "And heat is drawn from one thing in the human body. Can you guess what that is?" After receiving only a blank and impatient stare from her student, ZanYi answered, "Passion. Firebending is drawn from your own chi, instead of the elements itself. But what fuels and drive the fire is your heart, your passions. Every strong emotion inside of you is what builds your flame."

Syaoran processed the information, assimilating it in his head. "So, are you saying that my family is my passion?" He was pleased when the lieutenant nodded, finally having answered something correctly.

"You draw your fire from your passion. So when I tell you to think about your family, do it. Let it fuel it. Everything that they are—use it."

Just like that, the conversation was over and ZanYi was upon him again. A thrust fist shot a stream of fire at him. He raised a thin stone shield again. But this time, she tornadoed her fiery legs to break it, leaving a burn across his shoulder.

"You're still earthbending!" she stated, flinging fireballs down on him, watching him dodge and weave. "Use your passion! Your family! Your fire!"

This time Syaoran took a deep breath and thought back. Happy days on the farm. Chasing his little sister through the fields. Coming back to a delicious home-cooked cow-pig. When he opened his eyes, he found flames on his hands. So he mimicked her, chucking the fire as he would earth. He could have sworn he saw her sneer.

Absorbing the fire into her own, she pinwheeled it back at him. He dodged. "Good! Now stronger!" she commanded. He thought more. Days raising the fields with his father. Hikes in the mountains, creating the trails. So when she was upon him, Syaoran shoved his hands out to create a strong stream of fire.

ZanYi was thrown back against the nearest tree, crossing her arms in a defensive X as the fire berated her. With a swirl of her arms, she made it dissipate around her. However, that didn't prevent the tree she was against not to catch flame.

Needing no command, Ransik struck with a barrage of water, focusing more on the tree this time than Syaoran. Soon the tree and ZanYi were only smoking from exhausted flames. Rising to her feet, she finally smirked in satisfaction, excitement in her golden eyes.

"Now we're getting somewhere."

Shun kept shifting his weight, frowning as he watched the... lesson? He honestly couldn't tell if the Avatar was learning much. But he could tell that playing with fire the way they were was getting dangerous. Now Syaoran was sporting a new burn that needed to be healed.

Just as Shun began to stride forward, he was halted by the arm Ransik threw before him, holding him back.

"Let them go," Ransik advised, his eyes shifting to Shun before they returned to the lieutenant and the Avatar. "It's nothing serious right now, and can wait until after the lesson."

"But—" Shun protested, wanting to help. But Ransik shook his head firmly.

"Save your chi and heal them after all is said and done," the elder waterbender advised. And, though Shun didn't want to admit it, Ransik made a lot of sense. So he backed off.

"Syaoran! Syaoran!" Tiki cheered, as if she were a cheerleader at a game. "He's our Avatar! If he can't do it..." Tiki paused, then turned to her lemur. "Lili, what rhymes with Avatar?"

Lili merely tilted her head, looking cluelessly up at her master. Tiki sighed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Ah, forget it. Go Syaoran!" she settled on cheering. After all, there was nothing wrong with keeping it simple.

Syaoran could only turn and glance at Tiki with perplexed eyes. And against his better judgment, he grumbled, "Guitar rhymes with Avatar." As pleased as he was not to have been the one drenched this time, this kind of lesson was still confusing to him. "Lieutenant Tsong, I'm not exactly sure what's going on here."

ZanYi tilted her head, bemused. "Not sure?" she repeated, and then she shook her head. "First off, you're actually drawing fire at will now, unlike your random tendencies that brought you here, yes?"

First, he was surprised she answered. Then he was even more surprised when what she said made sense.

She continued. "I can teach you posture and formations and movements back at the base. But here you can actually feel the fire, use it. So this last time, I want you to actually hit me. Good."

Getting a feel for the on-the-go style, this time Syaoran was ready when the lieutenant lunged at him, hands ablaze. And, even to his shock, was able to match her flaming hands for ones of his own. So when she leapt in close, he was able to block her flaming punches with hands of his own. Attempting, Syaoran swung a hand blindly, trying to undercut her stomach.

The woman flipped out of his grasp, a portion of the burn only managing to slice her leg. "You're going to have to do better than that to end this!" she told him. This only served to push him. By the time she landed, he'd moved to punch again. Swing and a miss. With quick duck, low stance, and swift movements, she was behind him. One kick, just her foot, to his rear and he fell to the ground.

Syaoran rolled over onto his back and concentrated the full force of it into his hands and right at his teacher. That was the final blow. Blazing fire seared at her bare stomach, even as she flipped to dodge. Syaoran panted heavily, but watching closely as the young woman landed on one knee.

But instead of fighting again, she slowly rose to her feet, satisfaction in her eyes as the gaze flittered between the burn on her abdomen and the Avatar on the ground. "Okay, now we'll call it."

"All fighters report to the sick bay for treatment," Shun joked, though his eyes were serious. A quick assessment of the two revealed that ZanYi had the worst of the burns, and would need treatment first. "Sit tight, Avatar," Shun told Syaoran as he funneled a stream of water from the lake to surround the burns on ZanYi's stomach and leg.

"Excuse me, Lieutenant," Shun said as he stooped over to heal the burn on her leg. His hands were quick and sure, despite their size, and he worked his way up to her stomach, and then lastly her forearm. Once he was done, he smiled down at ZanYi. "I'd give you a lollipop for being such a good patient, but I'm afraid I just ran out," he joked, patting the lieutenant's shoulder. "Rain check, okay?"

"Syaoran, you were so cool!" Tiki was chattering in the Avatar's ear once Shun made his way over. "Well, obviously not _cool_-cool, since you were hot—uh, not in the way that means physical attractiveness—not that you're not cute! I mean, what I'm trying to say is—"

"Slow down, shrimp. You'll bite off your tongue at the rate you're going," Shun teased, wrapping the Avatar's shoulder in water and setting to work on it.

"Call me Tiki," the little airbender finally insisted with a pout. Shun laughed as he worked.

"Tiki, then. I was only calling you shrimp because you never told me what your name was," he pointed out, and Tiki laughed sheepishly while rubbing the back of her head. "There we go, Avatar. I hope you guys have some capable healers back wherever you're from, if you're gonna be at this for a while."

Tiki's smile deflated at the insinuation in Shun's words. "You're not staying?" she asked as Shun stood up. He smiled down at her.

"Afraid not. I gotta split," he informed the group as he picked up his satchel and slung it over his shoulder. "I'm chasing after some leads that'll cool fast if I don't get in gear soon. Besides, it looks like my work here is done."

"Oh, but you have to stay!" Tiki whined, turning the force of her puppy eyes on Shun. But the giant waterbender just laughed and patted her head.

"Don't frown, Teeks," he urged, dubbing her with yet another nickname. "It's not you, okay? I just have to get going—Ai's waiting for me."

"Ai?" Suddenly Tiki's kitty grin appeared, which never meant anything good for anyone else. "Who's that? Your _giiiiirlfriend_?"

"My bike," Shun corrected her with a grin. "Not that many people don't come to that same conclusion. Anyway, I left her up on the side of the road there," Shun jerked his thumb at a nearby hill. "I don't want anyone thinking she's abandoned, so I gotta go."

Tiki pouted some more. Wasn't there anything she could say to get her new waterbending friend to stay?

"Lieutenant Tsong!" Ransik beckoned, coming up to her side. "We should also begin to retreat now. The sun is falling."

Since this observation was of no news to her, ZanYi instead focused on where the burns had been. Essentially healed, though still a bit red—especially the one on her abdomen, but those would fade with time. Still, it was highly efficient healing.

"Well, your bike can come with us then," she spoke up, walking over to the new three.

"Tsong, what are you doing?" Ransik hissed in her ear, but she paid it no heed. Instead, she focused on the large man in front of her.

"Your healing is very good," ZanYi continued. "And when dealing with firebender training and the Avatar, it would only make sense to have the best, someone who can accompany us that we won't be tearing away from their company."

She was still a bit bitter about being pulled away from the AKs, but Ransik could tell she was already getting over it. Working with the Avatar was an honor for anyone, and he had not missed the glimmer of challenge in her eye.

Syaoran rose to his feet slowly, staring at the behemoth in their midst. He may be huge, but he really was a great healer—and managed to keep Tiki from dying, which would be a very good thing, since Syaoran wasn't sure he was going to get rid of her any time soon.

"Stay, Shun," he requested, craning upwards to seek his face. "If every day is something like this, then I am going to need the best healing I can get." Especially when learning firebending under Lieutenant Tsong seemed to get really hot very quickly.

Shun's indulgent smile began to fade as ZanYi—even the Avatar himself—jumped on Tiki's 'Please Stay With Us!' bandwagon.

"Oh. Really, I'd like to, but..." Shun tried to deny, but as he was working up to the excuse, words failed him. He rubbed his scruffy chin, looking perplexed.

On the one hand, he was hot on the trail of rumors about a family native to the Northern Water Tribe passing through these parts. It was a vague lead, but still a lead nonetheless, and if Shun hoped to ever see his family again...

But on the other hand, it appeared the Avatar and his friends needed him. Shun couldn't just turn down the _Avatar_. That was downright unpatriotic. And it wasn't a casual thing to be requested by the Avatar. This was a really big deal.

Shun shifted his weight as he debated to himself. Stay or go? Go or stay? How exactly was he supposed to decide?

Something crawling on his back distracted Shun from his thoughts, and he looked over in surprise: Tiki had clambered on to his back without him noticing, apparently deciding to go with a closer target to unleash her puppy-dog look.

"Pleaaaaasse, Shun? Pleaaasssse stay?" Tiki pleaded, her child-like eyes wide and watery. At once, Shun knew what he had to do.

"Well, with you and the Avatar asking so politely, how can I say no, Teeks?" Shun finally gave in.

"WHOO-HOO!" Tiki cheered immediately, leaping off of Shun's back to go hug Syaoran instead. "He's staying! He's staying!" she rejoiced, making Shun laugh.

"I'll just be right back, then," Shun called over his shoulder as he hopped back into the lake and strode across the shallow end like it was nothing. "I've gotta go get Ai."

"You better come back!" Tiki called after him, almost tempted to fly after him and make sure. But she was reassured by the thumbs up Shun shot her as he climbed the embankment opposite them and disappeared into the brush. "Hey, why do you think he named his bike Ai?" Tiki asked of Syaoran as they waited for Shun's return. "Do you think it's named after a heartbreaking love affair he had with a woman named Ai who broke his heart into a thousand tiny pieces and ran off with his best friend and left Shun a lonely miserable homeless guy who had to drown his sorrows by drinking cactus juice day in and day—what's that noise?"

Tiki suddenly cut herself off, her eyes on the sky. If she did not know any better, she would swear it was thunder... but the sky was perfectly clear, the sunset visible through some parts of the trees. And yet she did hear a rumbling... a rumbling that sounded like it was circling, and getting louder all the time...

Quite suddenly, a large motorcycle burst through the trees behind them, causing Tiki to scream and cling onto Syaoran once again. The motorcycle skidded to a halt just a foot from them, and once the rider pulled off his helmet, Tiki gaped at him.

"_This_ is Ai?" Tiki questioned incredulously, releasing Syaoran to get a closer look. "You said Ai was a bike! This is a _motorcycle_!"

Shun raised an amused eyebrow at Tiki. "Aren't they the same thing?" he pointed out.

"No!" Tiki rebuked him, her tone of voice insulting Shun's intelligence... not that he seemed to mind, with his ever-present smile in place. "For one thing, a bike does _not _have a motor!"

Shun chuckled. "Okay, okay, my bad. Settle down," he told the little airbender, but she was too busy rattling off all the other differences between bicycles and motorcycles—not that there were many—to notice.

"Bike... right..." Syaoran mumbled, staring at the giant and his giant motorcycle. This guy was full of surprises. Then again, this entire day had been a surprise. To think, it was only this morning he had woken up in a concentration camp, just like any other day. Except this day, he figured out he was actually the Avatar, the world's savior. He ruffled the back of his head, overwhelmed. This was almost too much. Syaoran hoped more would make sense in the morning.

However, neither Ransik nor ZanYi were fazed by the large motorized bike. "Doesn't matter what it is," the lieutenant dismissed. "There's plenty of room in the loading bay for it."

"Lieutenant's right," Ransik concurred, his eyes peering warily around them. The little airbender may have called him paranoid, but his experience said otherwise. "We just need to get back to base." A rumble came from their midst and the waterbender was already prepared to fight.

However, his comrade rolled her eyes. "Settle down, Ransik. That was just the Avatar's stomach, right?" ZanYi said with a smirk, looking at the young earthbender. Syaoran had the decency to at least attempt not to look sheepish, but he failed at that attempt.

"Yeah… that was me," he admitted.

With a small frown, ZanYi turned on her heel to start walking the way back to the warehouse base. "When we return, I'm sure the mess hall will have no problem scrounging up a solid dinner for you."

"Ha ha, your stomach growled louder than Shun's motorcycle, Syaoran!" Tiki teased, holding her sides as she laughed... only to have her own stomach rumble even louder a second later. Her face grew redder than a firebender's flame.

"Let she who is without hunger cast the mocking tone," Shun chided the little airbender playfully. She stuck her tongue out at him before eyeing his bike once more.

"So, just how fast is this thing?" she asked curiously. A glint began to shine in Shun's eyes.

"You wanna find out?" he offered. Immediately, Tiki was on the back of the motorcycle.

"Show me, show me, show me!" she urged the giant waterbender, who laughed at her enthusiasm.

"Hang on, Teeks—there's something you need first."

Tiki let out a small huff as Shun's heavy helmet was placed over her much smaller head. She peered up at the back of his now-bare head, the feathers dangling from his ponytail swaying with the breeze. "What about you?" she questioned, her gray eyes concerned. Shun turned to grin at the little airbender.

"I'll be fine. My head is probably harder than yours, anyway," he joked.

"Our base is not far from here," Ransik instructed the younger waterbender. "It's in a large warehouse—you can't miss it. But wait for either myself or the lieutenant before you approach the warehouse, or they will attack you first and ask questions never."

Shun nodded. "Got it. See you all there," he said before starting up his motorcycle. Ai gave a roar that could rival the roar of a dragon. "Hang on, Teeks!" Shun instructed, and before Tiki knew it, they were flying in a way she never dreamed was possible.

She wanted to scream, but all sound escaped her as they sped through the underbrush, the wind whipping at her hair. And then, all too soon, it was over. Tiki sat there, frozen on the back of the motorcycle, even as Shun put the kickstand down and stood up. He turned to look at her, his face expectant.

"That..." Tiki began, struggling a little as she pulled off the heavy helmet, "was AWESOME!"

Shun grinned, his wide smile reminding Tiki of a wolf. "I thought you'd like it. Most girls who ask for rides usually regret it right after," he informed Tiki, cringing and chuckling at some memory. "Not many can appreciate Ai's speed and power."

"Well if Ai was a woman, she'd definitely be the toughest, brawniest chick on the face of the planet," Tiki added, causing Shun to laugh loudly at the description.

However, what they did not immediately notice as they talked was the creeping of earthbenders approaching them from all sides. It was only a few mere seconds before they were going to strike that a voice called out, "Stop!"

The earthbending troop paused and turned at the lieutenant's voice as she entered the clearing, flanked by Ransik and Syaoran. "They're with us, with the Avatar," she said, and the disciplined fists of the men dropped.

Syaoran gulped silently. He wasn't sure what was the precise reason for it. On one hand, there was the strict security ready to strike at any moment right outside the Resistance base. On the other hand, there was the fact that these men heeded the word of Lieutenant Tsong without question, and she wasn't even their direct superior. Both of those concepts were slightly intimidating.

"Just how important exactly is the lieutenant around here?" he did venture to whisper to Ransik next to him. The older man chuckled, his eyes crinkling.

"Twenty one years old, first lieutenant of the Agni-Kai Special Forces, and one of the fiercest fighters this side of Republic City? I'd wager to say she's pretty important," he snickered. ZanYi turned back to give him a look, but then turned back to the troops.

"You can return to your posts," she encouraged, and the message was received, the soldiers dispersing. Wordlessly, she led the rag-tag group through the warehouses, tapped out the code, and allowed them down to the base. While it had been hustling and bustling before, it was a bit more subdued now that evening had struck.

"Must be dinner," Ransik commented, and ZanYi nodded.

"Ransik, take the Avatar and his associates to their new quarters. And make sure space is found to accommodate for Shun's motorbike."

When she started to walk away, Ransik scrunched his brow and called after her. "Where are you going, Lieutenant?"

And while Syaoran doubted she'd answer, she surprised him by actually replying to Ransik. "I need to speak with General Chen. We'll meet for training after lunch tomorrow."

As she continued to walk away, Ransik called back, "Why not morning?"

"Training with the AKs."

She never looked back as she disappeared down the corridor they'd gone through earlier, and Syaoran was still a little bemused. "Does she ever look at a person when she answers questions?"

"Only if she isn't doing something else."

Tiki let out a low whistle as she watched the lieutenant go.

"She's one cool customer," she commented, and then paused to think about it. "Well, obviously not _cool_-cool, since she's a firebender and all, but—"

"C'mon, Teeks, let's go get some food," Shun promptly distracted the little airbender, smartly diverting her attention from her ramblings to her rumbling stomach.

"Yeah, let's go!" Tiki quickly agreed, nudging Ransik from behind to hurry him along. Although put-out with Tiki's behavior, Ransik quickened his pace and led the group to the mess hall after directing someone to ensure that Shun's large motorcycle was stored safely out of the way. Once they had arrived, Tiki took a moment to stare open-mouthed at the large room and all the benders congregated for the night's meal. A hush fell over the room as soon as they spotted Syaoran, however, and many stood up and bowed to the Avatar.

"Welcome to the mess hall," Ransik said, "The food is being served over there."

Ransik pointed to a line at the back of the room, where a portly man stood behind a giant pot spooning out stew. Shun was already in line, Tiki noticed, and once he reached the front, he took not one, but _four _large bowls of stew. He was grinning when he came back over to Tiki, who stared at him.

"You're eating _all _of that?" she asked, her voice incredulous. Shun looked puzzled for a moment before he laughed at Tiki's assumption.

"Of course not. These extra bowls are for you guys," Shun explained, handing bowls to Ransik, Syaoran and Tiki in turn. "Besides, it'd be selfish to take more than I need—food is limited here, after all."

"Oh," said Tiki, feeling sheepish. She had assumed, with Shun's large size, that he would eat a lot more than everyone else. "Sorry, I..."

Shun grinned, which Tiki took to mean that she was forgiven. "Let's go find some seats," he suggested before setting off through the hall in search of an empty table.

"C'mon, Syaoran," Tiki urged, following after Shun's tall frame and giggling at the people who openly stared after him. It wasn't every day one saw a bigger-than-a-platypus-bear waterbender, after all.

Syaoran awkwardly walked after them, trying to avoid all the gazes directed at him, the whispers that followed him. For his entire time in the encampments, he did everything in his power not to draw attention to himself, to keep it away from his family. And yet, here he was, now the center of attention, the point of all focus. It made him uncomfortable. After taking a seat next to the large Shun, he took the bowl the waterbender had made for him and began to eat. While initially he had attempted to keep his head down and eat as calmly and as dignified as possible, that became impossible.

Syaoran could not recall the last time he had eaten a hot meal. It mattered not that the portion was not enough for what one could consider a 'growing boy', but it was enough for him.

"Easy there, Avatar," Ransik noted, sitting across from him and eyeing the boy with an anxious look. "Don't want to make yourself sick by eating too fast."

Syaoran briefly apologized, then proceeded to eat slower than he had—albeit, that was still a bit quickly.

If Ransik was worried about people eating too fast, he should have turned his attention to Shun. Not even bothering himself with a spoon, the large waterbender had swallowed his stew in three gulps. Tiki had been watching as she sat across from him, and her spoon was frozen halfway to her mouth as she stared at him. Shun noticed the look she was giving him and smiled.

"You gonna eat that?" he teased. Tiki hurriedly dug into her stew for fear that Shun would steal it from her.

Chuckling to himself, Shun gazed around the mess hall, registering the stares and awed looks the other benders were giving Syaoran—and him, though he could not imagine why.

"You're popular, huh, Avatar?" Shun teased with a smile before turning to Ransik. "I'm actually really impressed. I've never been inside of a Resistance base before, though I've met plenty of soldiers."

Tiki peered at Shun curiously from over her bowl. "How come you never joined the Resistance effort?" she wondered, "Seems like they could use someone like you."

"I suppose I would agree," Ransik joined the conversation, "though you seem more like a peace-lover than a soldier. Even so, why stand on the sidelines?"

Shun smiled, but this time it was tinged with sadness. "I always try to help when I can... but I can't really stay in one place for very long. There are some people I need to find, no matter what."

"Who?" Tiki asked without thinking. She bit her lip immediately after, however, once she saw the sadness in Shun's eyes.

"My family," the large waterbender replied simply. "I was... very young, the last time I saw them. I still hope to find them, one day."

Tiki's twin tails drooped as she looked down at the table. No wonder people didn't like it when she asked too many questions—sometimes her questions could hurt people.

"I'm sorry," she apologized meekly. A mental image of her parents flashed through her mind, and Tiki found herself respecting Shun a lot more. She had no idea if her parents were still alive or not, so she tried not to think about them. Deep down, she was afraid to know, because if they _were _dead, Tiki had no idea what she would do. But Shun was traveling tirelessly in an attempt to find his family, presumably no matter what he found. How did he possess that courage? Wouldn't he be sad if he found out his family was dead?

An affectionate ruffling of her hair distracted Tiki from her depressing spiral, and she looked up to find Shun smiling at her.

"Don't cry, Teeks," he soothed, "it's okay. I'm okay, promise."

"I'm not crying," Tiki denied, though she could feel the moisture gathering in her eyes. In an effort to distract herself, Tiki stuffed her face full of hot stew. She burned her tongue a little, but at least her tears could be blamed on the pain in her mouth.

Ransik watched the exchange with a knowing and mournful gaze. "There's not a single person at this base that hasn't been hurt by the war," he said with a heavy heart. "Look around you." Ransik gestured at the men and women all over the mess hall, leaning over their stew, laughing, talking. "All of these people have a back-story, a reason that they're here. Refugees, lost families, dead loved ones, revenge... There is no one that has not been touched in some way by this war."

Syaoran said nothing, continuing to eat his stew, but now even slower. His mood, whatever had been of it, was dropping. Not in honor of the sad stories of the people around him, but for his own family. The stew was good—delicious compared to the food in the concentration camps—and it was hot. What was his family eating? It was cold and probably looked like slop. Nothing nutritious about it certainly.

His mother was probably trying to get his sister to eat it; she was probably adamantly refusing. His father was probably getting hardly any food, growing sicker and sicker to the brink of death. And all of that would have been good news. Syaoran did not know what could have possibly become of them after he escaped, after finding out he was the Avatar.

Even though his stomach protested, Syaoran pushed his bowl away, unable to eat another bite. Instead he looked up to Ransik, sobered. "Where are our quarters?" he asked.

Finishing his own stew, Ransik swallowed the last bit before replying. "Down the hall in my ward," he answered. "You three will be staying there for your duration at the base. And after you're all done eating, I can show you to it."

"I'm finished," Shun said at once, unfolding his tall frame from the table as he stood.

"Wait!" Tiki cried, frantically trying to finish her stew. Her whole throat now burned because of her hasty actions, but she did not want to be left behind. As soon as the last of her meal disappeared into her mouth, the little airbender jumped up. "Kay, let's go!"

"This way," Ransik instructed, once again leading the way for the three newcomers. Out in the hall, Tiki noticed that the few people they passed ogled Shun almost as much as Syaoran. A few women even giggled and whispered behind their hands to each other as they passed the tall waterbender. Tiki nudged Shun with a conspiratorial grin.

"You're popular with the ladies, huh?" She teased, highly amused. "Better not let Ai find out; she'll get jealous."

"Hmm?" Shun hummed, looking down at Tiki curiously. His eyes had a far away look, as if she had pulled him from some other train of thought. He ran a hand across his prickly chin and frowned slightly. "Sorry, what was that, Teeks? I wasn't paying attention."

"Nevermind," Tiki answered with an indulgent eye-roll. Men...

"Is there a bathroom around?" Shun asked Ransik, his short conversation with Tiki already forgotten. "I need to shave—again."

Ransik glanced over his shoulder at the disgruntled tone in Shun's voice, but he said, "Each hall in the base has been equipped with a bathroom, though I must tell you that we are rather limited on...personal grooming tools."

"No worries," Shun replied and, without warning, he revealed a large hunter's knife. Tiki yelped and skipped away, choosing to cling on to Syaoran once more.

"You use that huge thing to _shave_?!" Tiki exclaimed, eyeing what was at least a twelve-inch knife. Shun, seeing that he had scared Tiki—and that Ransik had immediately taken a defensive position—hastened to stow the knife away again.

"Mostly, yeah," he said sheepishly, "sometimes I use it to hunt, when I need to..."

Tiki stared up at Shun from behind Syaoran's shoulder, wondering what on earth he would need a knife to hunt for, being the size he was.

"We're here," Ransik announced curtly. Tiki turned around, still holding onto Syaoran. This hall—Ransik's ward—was smaller than any other hall they had passed. Tiki could only assume that Ransik preferred his peace and quiet. Despite this, there were three doors to the right of a door at the end of the hall, which Ransik was approaching, and a single door across the hall on the left.

"These three rooms are available for your use," Ransik instructed, turning to face the three, "as is the bathroom across the hall. If you need anything, I shall be in my quarters, but it has been a long day, and I would rather not be disturbed this evening unless it is important. Good night to you all." With a bow to the Avatar and a nod to Shun and Tiki, Ransik opened the door to his room and disappeared within.

"Sweet dreams!" Tiki called after him with a grin. At last she released Syaoran to inspect the rooms, deciding almost immediately on the one in the middle. "I call this one!" she announced, bouncing out of the room happily. "It's Tiki-sized, just for me!"

Shun chuckled. "Then, if there are no objections, I'll take the room at the end," he said, indicating the room closest to them. "That all right with you, Avatar?" Shun asked with a polite smile, not wanting to be rude. He asked out of common courtesy rather than special treatment: though Shun recognized that Syaoran was the Avatar, he was still a guy, just like him.

Syaoran nodded to Shun, absentminded. "Yeah, that's fine," he mumbled, and then took his leave, sidling past the large man to the room next to Ransik's. Opening the door and shutting it behind him, Syaoran leaned against it, eyes surveying his new surroundings.

The room was simple and, considering it was all underground, there was no window. And yet, it was still so much nicer than the encampments. He had his own bed, tidy with a big pillow and simple blanket. There was a wooden wardrobe for belongings—as if he had any—and that was about it. But it was clean, and it was warm.

Syaoran fell onto the bed and gazed at the ceiling, knowing that as bare as this all seemed in here, his family was going through so much worse. And for the thousandth time that day, he wondered, Avatar or not, if escaping was the best choice.

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**A/N from Eva: Wow, chapter four! And we're still only on the tip of the iceberg! DJ and I have a lot of work ahead of us, it seems. XD Before I close out, DJ and I would like to express our most sincere thanks to a couple people!  
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**R.A.T.G: I saw your review first and was absolutely delighted to read your kind words! I showed DJ right away, and she was pleased as well. Please continue to read!  
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**That's all for now! We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Avatar New Year! Take care until next time!  
**


	5. The Disagreement

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire**

**By Twins of the Pen**

******Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

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"Lightning is dangerous. All of you know that."

ZanYi stood before her troops, all of their eyes rested on her. She parted her arms, pointing outwards to her sides. "Redirection needs to be done with much care. When lightning reaches the point of your tips, it could easily electrocute you. Unless," ZanYi drew a line with a finger from the point of one hand, all the way across her arm, down to her stomach, and back up and across her other arm, "you give it a new direction to follow."

"For example."

The lieutenant could feel the static charge in the air before she heard the electric crackle. She flashed her head quick to the right to actually see it just as it struck her pointed fingertips. The lightning rippled through her system, and ZanYi could feel the heat coursing. However, it was gone as quickly as it came, redirected out of her other hand to a nearby high-ceiling light. The high voltage shattered the light-bulb glass and the light went out.

With a heavy breath, she glanced angrily to her right, ready to rip the source of the dangerous impromptu exercise. And then she exhaled, seeing not one of her AKs, but one of the only firebenders, let alone anyone, willing to risk such an action.

"Everyone, take five," she ordered. But then her golden eyes took a closer look at Zaron Tsong's attire. She frowned. "Make that ten."

ZanYi strode over to her older brother, frown still present. "That was dangerous, Zaron."

The man shrugged with a small smirk. "I figured a more practical exercise would illustrate your point better. Besides, I know little ZaZa could take some lightning."

At this she mirrored his expression. But it didn't last long, only as long as it took to fully indulge in Zaron's appearance. Sure, some things had not changed since she had finally gotten to see him the night prior. His face was still sharp lined, though still heavily similar to her own. He still had their twinning jet-black hair, a bit on the scruffy side.

But it was the camouflaged uniform and flak jacket that had replaced his civilian clothes that stayed her frown. "You're leaving again. Couldn't tell me last night?""

Zaron sobered up, staring down at his younger sister. "The orders didn't come in till this morning. The mixed battalion is being sent to Omashu. After all, a certain lieutenant and her AKs managed to storm the wall yesterday and give us some more ground to work with."

"I suppose that would make sense," she agreed with a snort. But then her amusement disappeared. "Zar..."

The two siblings just stood and stared at each other, no words passing between them, but everything conveyed in their mirrored golden eyes. "Agni Kais!" Zaron bellowed, and the soldiers looked to the Tsong siblings. "Make that ten a twenty. I will be borrowing your lieutenant."

As Zaron led ZanYi out of the training room, she nodded to her troop, acknowledging his request. As they walked down the hall, their combat boots thudded softly against the cement similarly, though his step was heavier than hers.

"So, how long do you think you'll be?"

"However long it takes to get Omashu back."

ZanYi stopped, then so did her older brother. The man turned and looked at the gaze in his sister's eyes. "What, miss me?"

"Aren't I allowed every once in a while?"

Zaron strode to his sister so that they were close. He rested his hands on her shoulders. "We'll have more time after this. Until then, I'll keep fighting this war, and you'll keep pushing our forces forward and now teaching the Avatar." He gave her one of his confident smirks. "Trust me, if there's anyone that should be teaching the Avatar around here, it's you. I'm proud of you, ZaZa."

He wrapped his arms around her to give her a hug, and in the privacy of the empty hall, ZanYi returned the hug, wrapping his arms around his frame.

"I'm proud of you too. Just come back in one piece."

The tender moment did not last long. There was a loud 'thunk!' and a muttered oath at the end of the hall. Shun, who had just woken up and was not exactly coordinated in the morning, had just slammed his head on the low entrance of the hall. He ducked and proceeded, scowling to himself as he rubbed his forehead. It was not until he was almost upon the pair that he noticed the Tsong siblings.

"Morning, Lieutenant," he said brightly, seeing her first, before he noticed she was embracing a man. Shun paused, looking embarrassed and uncertain. "Oh… uh, sorry, didn't mean to interrupt," he apologized, beginning to back away from the pair. "I'll just, um…"

How embarrassing, Shun thought, his eyes on the ground as he turned to leave. He had clearly walked in on a very private moment and was sure ZanYi did not appreciate it. In his haste to leave, Shun quite forgot the low entryway and found himself hitting his head once more. Stars began to pop up behind his eyes.

"_Ow_," he growled, resting a palm on a nearby wall as he vigorously rubbed his head, wishing he had some water with him to ease the pain. "Son of a Chi Blocker, that hurts..."

It appeared that it was just not Shun's morning. Perhaps he would have been better off staying in bed.

At the first thundering thunk, ZanYi had stiffened, and at the voice, the two pulled apart from their embrace. While Zaron only marveled at the man's size and stature, ZanYi recognized the man and sighed. "Shun," she called out the man. Striding over to him, she peered up at the man with one brow lifted. "You should be aware of the many low ceiling areas in the base," she noted. "Are you all right?"

Zaron strode up behind her, never taking his eyes off of the large waterbender. The lieutenant looked at the gaze in her brother's eye and knew what he was thinking. "Meet Shun Jiang, the waterbending healer we picked up yesterday during the Avatar's training," she introduced, gesturing a hand to the giant. Looking then at Shun, she continued, "Shun, this is my brother, Sergeant Major Zaron Tsong."

Shun grinned sheepishly at ZanYi.

"I'll live," he had responded to her question before she introduced the man next to her. At the word "brother", Shun raised his eyebrows. Of course… how could he have missed it? They looked so much alike. "Nice to meet you, Sergeant Major," Shun greeted politely, sneaking a sideways glance at ZanYi. "I had no idea the lieutenant had a brother."

"Shuuuuuuun!"

Distracted, the large waterbender carefully turned to find Tiki riding her air scooter towards them, looking bright and cheery after a good night's sleep.

"Good moooorning!" she sang, her scooter dissipating as she reached Shun. "Sleep well?"

"Sure did," Shun replied, ruffling Tiki's hair fondly. "As did you, it seems."

"Oh yeah! I had this _incredible_dream I have to tell you about!" Tiki suddenly remembered, looking excited. "It was about this monk, this priest, and my Grandpa Meelo was there for some reason—"

"That's great, Teeks," Shun swiftly cut her off, "but can you tell me about it later? I was kind of having a conversation with the lieutenant and her brother here."

"Brother?" That word immediately grabbed Tiki's attention as she looked around, "I didn't know she had a—"

The words died in Tiki's throat as her gray eyes landed on Zaron. Her vision abruptly turned sparkly as she gazed at him, and there was a floaty feeling in her stomach that had absolutely nothing to do with her airbending. Quickly, the little airbender straightened up and gave a little cough.

"I do not believe we have met," she spoke to the Sargeant Major, suddenly demure with her eyelashes fluttering. She offered one of her small hands for Zaron to take. "My name is Tiki Chouko, and I am very pleased to make your acquaintance."

Shun, who was very good at reading people, had a shrewd idea where this sudden change in Tiki's character had come from, and he turned away so no one would see the laughter he was trying desperately to repress.

Zaron looked down at the little airbender with a similar gaze to what ZanYi had looked at her the day before, an eyebrow quirked. He warily reached out a hand to shake hers firmly once and slow. "Nice to meet you..." he said, wary of the small girl, who clearly had an explosive personality, and yet had seemed to reign it in abruptly.

At Tiki's change in behavior, however, ZanYi looked at the younger girl with a bemused expression. If her brother thought he was confused by Tiki's behavior, surely ZanYi was even more so. After all, the girl seemed to have the attention span of a pupfish. And yet, the lieutenant had already seen this happen to other, more normal females.

"Well, now that you're all acquainted…" ZanYi turned to her brother, peering up at him, "where are you meeting the rest of the battalion?"

"At the main loading bay," Zaron answered, and his sister nodded. Wordlessly, the two of them easily fell in step with each other, completely in synch. They proceeded down the hall, before ZanYi called back reluctantly, "if you two want breakfast, you can come along. Dining hall is past the main loading bay."

Tiki did not need to be told twice; she walked after the Tsong siblings at a rapid pace, determined to catch up. Looking highly amused, Shun followed, just in case Tiki needed to be reigned in—which was almost a certainty.

Tiki was chatting up Zaron by the time Shun had caught up—she had squeezed herself in between ZanYi and her brother so she could have the sergeant major's full attention.

"So, how come I didn't see you yesterday?" Tiki wanted to know, flashing what she thought to be alluring smiles at Zaron. "If I had seen you yesterday, I _definitely_would have remembered you, what with your shiny hair and gorgeous eyes and manly musk—"

Shun, unable to help himself, let out a laugh that he hastily tried to turn into a cough. Too late though; Tiki was looking back at him with a slight frown.

"What's so funny, Shun?" she asked, as if she were stung that he had not let her in on the joke.

"Nothing whatsoever," Shun replied with a wide grin he simply could not hide.

"The sergeant major was taking care of debriefing my troop after I was called in to help you all and the Avatar," ZanYi answered as patiently as she could. While ZanYi was never known for having a wealth of patience, she did have a great reserve of self-control. Normally she could easily ignore such trivial behaviors.

However, this was under different circumstances, and her patience or disregard was quickly dwindling. And Zaron could tell. One part of his lip quirked up briefly.

"Yes, the lieutenant was otherwise engaged yesterday evening, so I helped with the AKs," Zaron answered, "so we had dinner privately since she had just returned from her mission fairly unscathed."

The man looked at his younger sister, and she shrugged off the gaze without a single glance. War had its casualties. So did training.

With the ability to ignore like ZanYi, Zaron glanced back at Shun as they walked, curious. "So, I can guess then that it was you who patched up my sister after training with the Avatar yesterday?"

Shun, who was heartily amused by Tiki's pouting as she was ignored, took a moment to realize that Zaron was addressing him.

"Oh, yes, I did," he answered as if he had just remembered. "I didn't have to do much, though; your sister is very tough."

They had reached the dining hall. Though it was still a little early, there were many people inside, yawning and eating quietly. Knowing that this is where they had to part, Shun scooped up a heartily protesting Tiki with one arm and simply held her off the ground, though she struggled violently in his grasp.

"It was very nice to meet you, Sergeant Major," Shun said once again, bowing to the man. "And we'll see you this afternoon, Lieutenant. Excuse us."

Once they were in the Mess Hall and in line for food, Tiki demanded severely, "_Why did you do that?_ That was the _hottest_ guy I have _ever _seen, and here you are just swooping in and—"

"He's too old for you, Teeks," Shun said gently. Tiki opened and closed her mouth angrily for a moment, as if she had forgotten how to speak.

"I'm nineteen!" she burst out finally.

"Are you?" Shun asked in some surprise. After all, Tiki didn't exactly look or act like a nineteen-year-old. "But nevermind that," he pushed on when Tiki opened her mouth to yell at him some more. "Where's Syaoran? Still asleep?"

Tiki pursed her lips with a scowl. "I don't know," she answered unhelpfully. "Go look for him if you're so concerned."

And she flounced off with her tray of food, leaving an amused Shun behind.

However, once Tiki reached the entrance of the dining hall, she began to ponder Shun's question more seriously. She had not run into Syaoran when she left her room, nor had she checked his room. Was he still sleeping?

Tiki decided to take her own advice and followed the labyrinth back to Ransik's ward. Balancing her tray on one hand, Tiki knocked softly on the door to Syaoran's room.

"Syaoran?" Tiki asked, pressing an ear to the door. "You awake?"

When she heard no response, her hand grasped the door knob and began to twist it. "I'm coming in, Syaoran!" she warned him, just in case he was there and just not answering her for whatever reason.

And thankfully, Syaoran was awake enough not to upheave the concrete stone beneath his feet. "Tiki!" he exclaimed, eyes wide and fists clenched, body poised in classical earthbender forms before he stumbled back in his barely conscious stupor. He was in a clean set of military personal training clothes, he supposed left for him by Ransik. Sure, it was a touch drab, just a pair of cargos, military grade boots, and a gray shirt, but it was much better than his rags.

Problem was the shirt was not yet on him. Snatching the shirt off the bed, Syaoran pulled it quickly over his head, then fixed an irritated look at the airbender. "What are you doing here, Tiki?" he asked, now fully clothed.

It may have been early, but the Avatar had been planning on attempting to practice some of the basic firebending positions—upon dragging his body out of bed, he'd found a note from the lieutenant with their depictions, asking him to. Some of them, he noticed, she'd used the day before in their sparring. Thankfully some of it was similar to some of the earthbending forms he'd learned as a child.

It became clear to him that firebending was going to take longer than he'd liked to master, considering at the sudden entrance of Tiki, his first and only instinct had been to earthbend.

Tiki had gotten an eyeful of some very impressive-looking abs before Syaoran threw on a shirt over them. Feeling slightly disappointed, Tiki grinned at the Avatar's irritated look.

"It's breakfast time, silly!" she chided him, displaying her tray full of food with a flourish. "I came to see if you were awake or not so you could get something to eat! You're a little grumpy when you're working on an empty stomach, I've noticed." True, Syaoran had also been under attack the day before, when he was forced to firebend, but Tiki stood firm on her belief that his rumbling stomach did not help matters much.

Syaoran almost noted that he was used to working on a rumbling stomach, but he felt no need to share that information with Tiki. Instead, he eyed the tray that she had come in bearing. Once again, the food was warm, and while Syaoran was not picky, it certainly acted as more incentive to actually eat.

"Thanks, I guess," he managed to the pint-sized airbender, taking the tray from her grasp. As he sat down on his bed, Syaoran set the tray on his lap and smelled the food. Maybe there were people out there who would have thrown it out, but it was more than edible in his eyes, and smelled delicious.

Quietly, he took a bite of the food, and knowing Tiki was there, he ate it slowly. He did not need another comment about his scarfing down the food. Syaoran supposed the Avatar should probably have a bit more dignity than that; he was also certain that his mother would have reprimanded him. Force of habit, he supposed.

Tiki beamed at his thanks. Grouchy though he seemed, Syaoran was a good guy, deep down. She watched him for a moment as he silently ate, slower than he had last night. Tiki was about to tell him that he had nothing to be self-conscious about in her presence when something occurred to her: she had forgotten to do her morning meditation!

Berating herself silently for forgetting something so important, Tiki strode over to the middle of the floor, where she felt the chi flow was strongest, and sat down cross-legged. It would have been better if she was outside for this, but she was rather sure she could not leave the base without permission, and this had to be done now. Placing her fists together, Tiki closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. In and out. In and out. The quiet clinking of Syaoran's fork was a little distracting, but once Tiki got into her groove, she found that it was easily ignored.

Once Syaoran noticed Tiki sitting ever so quietly on the floor, he quieted his eating even further. His eyes watched her, puzzled. This was Tiki. Granted, he had only known Tiki for a brief period of time—less than twenty-four hours—but the girl seemed normally quite... exuberant, for lack of a better word.

So how was it that she was even able to settle herself down enough to sit down, let alone so quietly?

Syaoran had never come across an airbender before, but he could only presume what he was witnessing was some sort of meditation. And he found it odd. But if managed to keep Tiki quiet...

Finishing his food, he took advantage of the silence and stepped out onto the floor again. Looking at the scrolled paper left for him by the lieutenant, he continued to work out the basic firebending forms in silence, doing his utmost best to have quiet, airy foot movements. Whenever he lost his footing or messed up, it was difficult not to yelp.

Tiki remained perfectly still, save for her deep breathing. This way, she could sense all kinds of chi flowing around her: the fiery spirit of the firebenders, the languid flowing chi of the waterbenders, the solid, unbending will of the earthbenders...and had there been other airbenders around, Tiki would be able to sense the free flowing spirits they possessed...though Lili's chi flow was a close comparison, the lemur being asleep in the next room over.

Syaoran's chi flow, however, was a curious one. It was not fierce, nor languid, nor solid, nor free-moving… but somehow a perfect combination of all four, resulting in pure, unadulterated power that Tiki could not hope to comprehend. She felt it as he moved: raw power that had yet been tapped into, a power that needed strict discipline… or it would surely destroy them all.

"Your aura is the strangest thing I've ever sensed," Tiki spoke softly, her eyes still closed. "It's a little scary, but inspiring too… I wonder if all the Avatars before you possess the same aura? Or does something about you make it shine so brightly?"

Tiki's questions were rhetorical of course; she didn't expect Syaoran to possess the answers she sought, though that would have been awesome. She was simply thinking out loud… something she really shouldn't be doing as she was meditating. Remembering this, Tiki fell silent again.

Syaoran was surprised a bit to hear Tiki's voice, and especially as soft as it was. It was not a tone he expected from the girl and it was not the time in which he expected it, since she appeared to be meditating. He spared one glance over and saw that she had resumed, and therefore he did the same, practicing the movements.

"I don't know what you're seeing," Syaoran replied, equally concentrated on his own morning motions. While some were similar to earthbending, some of the positions certainly felt foreign to him, and therefore warranted his concentration even more, so awkward to him. "Is the aura that different from everybody else?"

"Very," Tiki answered automatically before she remembered she should not be talking while meditating. So she gave up on the meditation and chose instead to watch Syaoran practice. Her expression was thoughtful as she watched him.

"Usually when I'm meditating, I can tell what people are by what kind of chi they possess, bender and non-bender alike. But… if I didn't know you were the Avatar, I would be very confused by your aura. It possesses all the strengths and weaknesses of each element and combines them in perfect harmony. It's like nothing I've ever felt before."

Tiki pulled one of her legs against her chest, resting her chin on her knee with her arms folded around them. "But I guess I shouldn't be surprised," she continued, her eyes still on Syaoran. "That's what it means to be the Avatar, right? To be the one that brings harmony to the world. It only makes sense that your aura is also as balanced."

"Balance. Right..."

Syaoran focused on his movements as he said that, pondering on the word. Balance. That was something he knew hardly a thing about. Earthbending was his identity. It was about facing a problem head on, being determined, being persistent, but learning when to wait to be those things.

Balance? Everything within him said all or nothing.

"Well, I don't feel like my aura is very 'balanced'," he remarked, beginning to grow very irritated.

Tiki cracked a grin.

"That's probably because you're trying too hard," she told him, not unkindly. She spun to her feet, her hair aloft for a second, as if her twin tails had become propellers. "It looks like you're trying to force yourself into this identity, when it should just come naturally."

Tiki summoned a ball of air between her hands, revolving it between her palms as she spoke, her gray eyes intent on its momentum. "It's kind of like airbending," she said, more to herself than to Syaoran, "it's something that just flows through you: as naturally as breathing."

Tiki let the ball of air dissipate, and she looked up to smile at Syaoran. "You are the Avatar. But you are also Syaoran. These two identities are the same, but also different. As for how they're the same and different, you'll have to find out on your own."

A loud rumble reminded Tiki that she had not exactly had breakfast yet. She blushed a delicate pink and giggled self-consciously.

"So good luck with that," she said flippantly, returning to her joking demeanor and ditching the 'wise monk' persona. "Right now, I gotta go get Lili; she'll be cranky later if I let her sleep through breakfast. See you later!"

And with a flip of her twin tails, Tiki was gone from Syaoran's room. The guy in question merely stared after her. One minute Tiki was bouncing off of walls and ceilings, the next she was trying to give sagely advice. He could only shake his head.

"I don't get it."

* * *

ZanYi was grateful when Shun had tugged the little airbender away to the mess hall. She was learning already that she could only take Tiki in dosages, and this was not the time for a dosage. Zaron was leaving, and so it was then as it should be before his deployment: just the two of them. That was all she ever needed.

"So, that was..?"

"Yes. That was Tiki," she replied with a sigh. It seemed that the lieutenant was going to be stuck with the little airhead, and she was already beginning to be thankful for Shun. "But enough about them," she said, looking up to see her brother's steady gaze. "You don't have time for breakfast?"

"We leave as soon as I arrive," Zaron said with a tinge of regret. And ZanYi nodded, reluctant, but understanding. Military was the life they had chosen. The constant mix-matched times and departures came with the territory. "So I need to be going."

ZanYi nodded again, knowing all too well the call of duty. So when he lifted a hand upward between them, she knew what he wanted. She did the same and clasped it in his, eyes never leaving his face, even as fire engulfed their two hands. In the flickering flame reflected in Zaron's eyes, she also found herself there. In her brother's eyes, she always felt like a small child still, even though they both knew that was not the case.

"Come back soon, Zar," she requested softly quietly, resting her head on his shoulder. Her older brother returned the gesture, the fire of their hands burning between them.

"I will."

And then the moment ended again, but this time of their own volition. ZanYi watched for a moment as her older brother strode down the hall to meet his troop. A heavy breath escaped her breast, but then she turned and strode into the dining hall. More people were beginning to emerge from morning training sessions, her AKs included. Her lip twisted. Normally she did not approve of ending training so early, but under the circumstances of the interruption this morning, she could not disapprove of her actions.

She received her tray of food and glanced briefly around the mess hall. There were seats among her loyal firebenders, and there was a nice empty table in the back, a spot she did often enjoy. But that would be ignoring the platypus-bear in the room—or more specifically, the waterbender she'd help recruit to help with the Avatar's training.

Slipping into the seat across from Shun, she began to eat her meal quietly. And then she realized it was indeed quiet. "I believe you've lost someone," she noted, gesturing to Tiki's absence. The lieutenant almost feared where the airbender had run off to. It did not take an in-depth knowledge of the younger girl to know chaos followed in her path.

Shun smirked.

"She ran off," he informed ZanYi, "hopefully to simply check on the Avatar instead of bothering him… but, considering it _is_Tiki…" Shun chuckled good-naturedly and set down his fork, his breakfast already finished. Thinking of Tiki, however, caused his smile to fade and be replaced by a thoughtful look.

"Did you know she's nineteen?" Shun asked the lieutenant, stroking his chin as he thought—it was becoming stubbly again, he noted with some irritation. "I was mighty surprised—she's a little small for her age." Shun's grin was back at the memory of Tiki's affronted look. "I'm afraid I insulted her with my surprise, which is probably why she chose to leave my presence. That, or she's really mad that I interrupted her supposed 'budding romance' with your brother."

Shun could not help laughing here: the sight of Tiki acting out-of-character to impress a man who clearly shared the lieutenant's personality was highly amusing. She would have better luck meeting a lion turtle.

ZanYi revealed a bit more emotion, and by that, she showed disbelief. "That kid is nineteen?" she could not help but repeat. It surely seemed strange. The little airbender seemed more like a child, though, she supposed, that was partially due to her energetic personality, to put it lightly.

Shaking her head, the lieutenant went back to her meal, eating calmly. It mattered not how old Tiki was; it was not going to help with Zaron. "My brother is not one for a 'budding romance'," she coolly stated, knowing this for a fact. "He is hardly ever on base, first and foremost."

A fact that ZanYi did not like either. Some of the girls who had tried to breach her brother's heart had noted the siblings' relationship was 'too intense'. Frankly, the lieutenant saw no problem with it. After all, who would not be close after everything they had gone through?

Shun picked up on the unhappy note in ZanYi's voice, his smile fading.

"That must be tough," he said gently, looking away with his chin in his palm. "I'm glad you're able to see him at all, though, even if it's only for a little while."

Shun's thoughts inevitably strayed back to his family, to his own brothers and sister. He would have given anything to see them again, anything at all. But for now, all he could hope was that they were all safe.

"I am content with whatever I receive," the lieutenant agreed. Her brother may be all that matters most to her in the world anymore, but she certainly was not blind to the perils of others. She had already gone down that road before. It made her all the more grateful at her age to even have her brother left.

Continuing to eat, she noticed the waterbender's pensive gaze. No part of her, however, felt called to comment on it. ZanYi knew just as well as many others what the war could do to a family. Therefore she felt no need to ask about it. To each their own past.

Instead, she said cryptically, "The best we can do is be satisfied with what we have and pray for a better tomorrow, and each day will become easier than the last."

Shun nodded subconsciously, his eyes still very far away. But what the lieutenant made sense. It was the only reason Shun found himself able to smile, even after all these years: the hope that tomorrow would always be better.

Shun's gaze shifted, and he noticed a few AK's grouped nearby. They were muttering to themselves and eyeing ZanYi and Shun furtively. When they saw he was looking, however, they turned their backs and went about their business. Shun raised his eyebrows wonderingly.

"I'm not keeping you from your AK's, am I?" he asked the lieutenant. "Some of them seem very interested in what you're doing over here."

ZanYi spared no glance over to the next table as she finished her food. "No, you are not," she answered with closed eyes. Then she opened those golden irises and pushed her tray to the side. Elbows on the table and focused gaze on Shun, she continued, "You are a guest here under the Avatar's request and under my authority. Therefore, my unit will learn to accept this fact."

However, it was then again that the lieutenant felt the gazes of her soldiers and this time, she actually acknowledged it with a slow glance. "Gentlemen," she spoke, and all of the men at the next table stiffened, ready to listen. "Do we have a problem here or are any of you ready for an Agni Kai? I'm sure I could use you as examples for lightning generation and redirection."

There was a resounding negative to her question and she smirked as they turned back to their business and she to hers. "Don't pay them any mind," ZanYi told Shun. "Zaron already interrupted our morning training anyway."

Shun couldn't help but look rather amused at the ease ZanYi commanded her force. He had never met a woman quite like her.

"I sure am glad you're on our side," he told her with a grin. "I definitely wouldn't want to face you in a fight."

Shun did not like fighting in the first place, but had come to accept the fact that, in these times, it was a necessary evil. Still, knowing that people like this lieutenant were fighting for a good cause was enough to allow him to sleep a little easier at night.

ZanYi chuckled a little. "I don't believe there is anyone on this base that would want to face me in a fight," she agreed, glancing at her compatriots around the mess hall. But then she glanced to Shun, one eyebrow quirked.

"Though I do suppose the same could probably be said of you," the lieutenant noted, looking him up and down with a skeptic gaze. "You're clearly a very adept healer, but I have a feeling that there is more to your waterbending, yes?"

The man certainly had more size to throw around than any of her soldiers. ZanYi half-expected any waterbending from him would probably be just like him: large.

Shun now looked faintly embarrassed at the subtly praise the lieutenant gave him.

"I don't know about that," he said modestly. "To be honest, I much prefer healing. It's more helpful, and I've even been working on a way to heal benders that have been subjected to Chi Blockers faster… though I do admit it's slow-going…"

"Aw c'mon," a pitched voice interjected, Tiki suddenly appearing with a tray of food and a ravenous Lili on her shoulder, "I bet you're selling yourself short, Shun. Hasn't there ever been a time where you had to use your waterbending offensively?"

A dark shadow passed over Shun's usually friendly face; whatever he was thinking of was apparently not too pleasant.

"In any case," he persisted, "I prefer to use my water-healing."

Tiki, sensing that this was a topic that ought not to be broached, smartly filled her mouth with breakfast before she could say anything tactless. ZanYi continued to peer at Shun with a curious gaze. However, instead of pushing the matter, the lieutenant said, "Well, then continue to use your healing powers. We have enough waterbending soldiers on this base."

"You sound bitter about that, Lieutenant."

She did not bother to turn as Ransik's voice resonated behind her. "Gee, good morning, Ransik. Thank-you for your greetings."

"Says the woman who ignores everyone."

ZanYi shrugged and proceeded to move to her feet. "Well, since I can leave this group in your oh-so-capable hands…" But before she could finish her sentence, she caught gaze of Syaoran as he entered the mess hall, a finished tray in his hands. After putting it in its proper place, he walked over to the lieutenant, determination in his gaze as he held hers.

"Good morning, Lieutenant Tsong," he greeted, trying to flatten his messy hair. It didn't work. When he gave up, Syaoran resumed to look to his teacher. "When do we begin training again?"

Nothing Tiki had said made sense—which was to be expected, since it was Tiki. He was Syaoran. He was the Avatar. He was one person and Avatar was just a title. And right now, that title required him to master three more elements and then try to end a war that had ripped apart their generation.

Clearly the task ahead was daunting.

The lieutenant looked from her expectant AKs to the Avatar standing before her. After a moment, she resigned a disgruntled sigh. She turned to those at the table. "Are you all ready to begin?"

Shun stood immediately, adjusting his feather-adorned ponytail, but Tiki, however, looked sadly at her hardly touched breakfast. She made to get up, but Shun had a firm hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down.

"Go ahead and finish up, Teeks," Shun encouraged, "you can join us when you're done."

"But—"

"I'm sure Syaoran will be okay without his cheerleader for just a few minutes," Shun teased good-naturedly. Tiki pouted, but nonetheless continued to eat her breakfast. Something about Shun made him impossible to argue with, though Tiki was having trouble deciding if it was his disarming smile or his alarming size.

Satisfied that Tiki would be having a full meal, Shun turned to ZanYi. "Ready when you are," he said.

ZanYi nodded to Shun and then looked over to her soldiers again. While they looked at her with uncertain eyes, once they saw her resolve, they looked away, continuing their meal. The lieutenant knew her orders, and despite her ties and allegiance, this was important.

So she looked to Syaoran with a determined fire. He was the Avatar, the only one who could give them a permanent edge in this war. And ZanYi was not going to train him half-heartedly. She had to be all in this.

"Then we can continue training now. I hope you're ready for a lot of burns, Syaoran."

The young earthbender nodded with a gulp, remembering the day prior and assuming that was going to be the tip of the iceberg. He just hoped that practicing those firebending forms was going to help him.

Because he knew he was going to need all the help he could get.

* * *

"Again!"

Syaoran fell to one knee, panting heavily with a fist to the ground. A quick blaze of heat brushed near him and he barrel-rolled out of the way. "I said again!" he heard his teacher demand. Syaoran quickly rolled up to his feet.

He released an angry grunt as he punched two balls of fire towards ZanYi. She easily blocked them, dissipating that fire. She fixed a stern look at Syaoran, whose shoulders sagged at the look. He knew what was coming by now.

"You're still not controlling your breathing, Syaoran," she criticized the Avatar, resting her hands on her sides.

Syaoran wanted to sass back, something along the lines of it being difficult to breathe when she was shooting fire at him constantly. But he knew she would retort along the lines of the enemy forces not pulling punches either in a real fight. Instead, he took a deep breath, and this time as he punched, he released it slowly.

The fire came out in much stronger puffs. The lieutenant allowed her arm to be hit by one and then she caught the other. She gauged the burn on her arm. "That's definitely better, but we need to better your breathing while in motion."

Syaoran wanted to roll his eyes, but refused to. Such an action would only get more fire shot at him. Still, it seemed as if he could never get this right, despite having been practicing this for a week now.

ZanYi looked over the young man's ragged stature and reluctantly sighed. "Alright, Shun, you can begin to patch him up," she consented, moving to lean against a nearby tree. The ground around the waterfall held several burn marks by then, proceeding to only increase every day they practiced.

"Yes ma'am," Shun replied obediently, leaving Ransik's side with his hands encased in water. He ran the water around the injured parts of Syaoran's body, being sure to take care of the few bruises the Avatar had sustained as well as the many burns ZanYi had not hesitated to give him. This took a few minutes, but Shun's work was quick and nearly flawless as always. With a reassuring pat to Syaoran's back, Shun made his way over to the lieutenant.

ZanYi, Shun quickly realized, was a little bit stubborn when it came to being healed. Often times during the week, he had had to persuade the unconcerned lieutenant to be patched up. She always conceded in the end, but it was not without a bit of effort on his part. This time, though he felt a little bit unlike a gentleman, Shun did not bother to ask permission from her this time.

"Pardon me," Shun could not help but excuse himself as he worked his magic. Syaoran he had no problem healing, because Syaoran was a man just like he was. But the lieutenant… Shun had to be extra careful with her. He ended his violation of her personal space by healing the burn she had let Syaoran give her. He had frowned when he saw that, instead of easily avoiding the attack, ZanYi had stood there and taken it. True, she was tough enough to not let a few burns bother her… but still, if she could help it, she should have dodged…

Shun kept these things to himself and, after he was finished healing her, smiled at the lieutenant as always.

"All done."

"You're getting so much better, Syaoran!" Tiki tittered, handing him a bottle of water. "Well, ZanYi's still burning you a lot, but still, progress is progress, right?"

Syaoran took the water from Tiki, drinking it heartily. It quenched his parched throat like nothing else. He'd found himself drinking a lot more since training had started; it was probably in part to that he actually had water accessible to him now, but another was how much the heat was getting to him.

"Thanks," he did say to her, once the cool liquid had slipped down his throat. "Progress is progress, but when Lieutenant Tsong is satisfied, then we'll know it's actual progress."

Sadly for him, this seemed to be quite a difficult feat, one that had not really been breached to that point yet.

It was a bit easier for Shun to, however. ZanYi, as always, inspected the work he had done on her burns. She nodded over them with approval. "Good work, Shun," she commended him. She was going to say more, but then she noticed Ransik over on the side listening intently to the communication device in his ear. She frowned as she watched him nod and mutter agreements.

"What's the news?" she asked immediately after he finished. Syaoran heard the question and looked to Ransik as well. The waterbender looked first at the Avatar, then back to the lieutenant.

"We're requested back at base. New orders are being given."

Shun merely quirked an eyebrow, while Tiki burst out immediately, "What new orders?"

"Guess we'll find out," Shun replied to Tiki with a slight smile; the somber air about the command seemed to keep him from outright grinning. Swiftly, the large waterbender moved to his motorcycle: he had convinced ZanYi to let him bring Ai out every once in a while, and today was one of the occasions in which he was permitted to bring the large bike. Tiki immediately followed after him; it had become routine for her to ride with him. With a loud roar, Ai was brought to life, and in a swift moment, they were in front of the base again.

The metalbenders inside recognized the sound of Shun's motorcycle by now, but they still waited until ZanYi, Syaoran and Ransik had joined Tiki and Shun before they opened the passage to the base.

And once they opened the passage, they found the base up in a flurry of movement. That would have been considered normal, if not for the increased numbers in the base. Soldiers and their regiments were bustling everywhere, and it was a sight enough to make Ransik and ZanYi frown.

"General Chen!" she called out, spotting him amongst the hustle and bustle. The elder man turned at the sound and locked eyes with her, then Ransik. He walked through the crowd to the rag-tag team and he nodded to both of them. "General, what is going on?"

"The situation at Omashu has taken a turn," he said simply, ignoring the marginal widening of his lieutenant's eyes. Instead, he focused on Ransik. "Your squadron is being deployed to help with the situation. Sikka has already been briefed." Ransik nodded stiffly. Giving ZanYi a brief pat on the shoulder, he strode through the crowd to find his waterbending corp. And at that, the general was about to turn heel and walk away when ZanYi caught him.

"General," she stalled, and when he looked back at her, there was fire in her eyes. "What happened?"

He took a resigned sigh. "The NEs have brought in reinforces. Our position is no longer stable and if we don't hurry, we may lose the part of the city that we have."

ZanYi grit her teeth and clenched her fists. From behind her, Syaoran could've sworn he saw a spark of a flame escape that tight grasp. "Let me lead the AKs. We can turn this back around."

"Your orders are to the Avatar, Lieutenant."

This did not help ZanYi in way, shape, or form. In fact, it made her struggle to hide the fire within her fists. Omashu would be a key victory, and until the Avatar was fully the Avatar, they still needed these kinds of victory to help turn the tide of the war. And Zaron...

"Then allow the Avatar and his team to travel to Omashu."

Syaoran looked at the lieutenant with wide eyes. She was willing to take him into a war hotspot? He understood that his teacher was a disciplined fighter and leader, but why she was so desperate to go to Omashu, he did not understand.

Shun, however, thought he understood why the lieutenant was suddenly so ready to throw the Avatar into battle.

"Lieutenant," General Chen began sternly, "the Avatar has not completed his training. Having him go to Omashu now, when he is clearly unprepared, would be a grave mistake."

"Don't you think you're underestimating Syaoran just a little bit?" Tiki piped up, emphasizing Syaoran's name. Little bothered Tiki, but somehow, it always bugged her when the military units around the base insisted on calling Syaoran 'the Avatar' all the time, as if that was his only identity. "He's come a long way, you know. Right, Shun?"

The large waterbender frowned, because he knew what he had to do now and was not looking forward to it, because it would inevitably lead to conflict.

"I agree with General Chen," he said slowly, ignoring Tiki's look of exaggerated betrayal. "It's too soon for Syaoran to fight a war he is ill-prepared for. No offense, Avatar, but it's true that you still have two more elements to learn and master, and you haven't exactly even mastered fire yet."

"Precisely," the general said crisply, nodding in approval. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other matters to attend to."

As General Chen stalked away, Shun turned his stiff gaze on ZanYi.

"I know how you must feel," he told her quietly, meaning it. "But the general has a point: if we take Syaoran to Omashu before he's ready, who knows what will happen?"

Whatever happened, Shun was positive it would not be anything good.

ZanYi whirled to face Shun, fire not only in her eyes, but engulfing her hands at that point. She said nothing, just glared at him with every ounce of vehemence that she had in that moment. It was quite a bit. Her jaw was locked, refusing to even utter a word.

Leaving only that, she pivoted and strode away quickly, disappearing into the mass of people at the main loading bay. Syaoran then exhaled a long breath, one he had not quite realized he had been holding. "I don't think being here is going to be any better from now on either, Shun," he grimaced, watching after the lieutenant. Considering how strict and fiery she was when they could consider her to be in a good mood, suddenly Syaoran felt that staying with her now was even more dangerous than the front lines.

Granted, he could not ignore the fear in the pit of his gut; he feared capture and being sent back to the encampments. The Avatar also worried for worse. But he did know that staying here with an uncooperative teacher was not going to be helpful either. Or safe.

"Thanks, Tiki," he said to the young airbender with a mild nod to her. At least one person had stuck up for him, though he wasn't sure how he felt that it was the most unbalanced person in their group.

Shun had watched ZanYi go, clearly troubled. It was not as if he did not understand how she was feeling: her only brother was out there, risking his life to defend the only advantage they had in this terrible war. But they also had to think rationally about this: though Tiki asserted that Syaoran could handle himself, Shun was not willing to risk it. Losing the Avatar would mean losing all hope that the benders would ever have freedom again. But, he also had to admit that Syaoran had a point: if ZanYi's bad mood transferred over to their training, Syaoran would probably be better off at a war zone in Omashu.

"I'll be right back," he muttered to the other two, and he went in the direction ZanYi had disappeared to. He had to talk to her, had to make sure she was not planning on doing anything reckless. Shun recognized the turmoil the lieutenant must be feeling at the moment, and the last thing she needed to be was alone, even if she thought that was the best idea.

Tiki had smiled at Syaoran's thanks, but now she watched Shun's large frame disappear in the hustle and bustle of the base. She bit her lip and peered a bit apprehensively over at Syaoran.

"Do you think she'll hurt him?" Tiki asked, quite serious. She had seen the look in ZanYi's eyes when she glared at Shun, and wouldn't put it past the lieutenant to need to vent on whoever was foolish enough to cross her path.

Syaoran watched as Shun cut through the crowd after the lieutenant and could not help but be a little afraid for the guy as well. He knew better than them even how fierce the firebender was on a normal basis, and nothing about this situation was normal. In fact, the look she had given Shun was downright venomous. Plus he'd seen those flames encircling her hands as she stared the large man down. There was a touch of blue in its core, and from what he knew about fire, he could only guess that meant it was hot.

"Tiki," he began to answer, the words reluctant from his lips, "I honestly don't know what she'll do." Syaoran had only known her the week. "To be this worked up, she must be one dedicated soldier," the Avatar remarked.

Tiki turned a surprised look onto her companion. Did he really not realize why the lieutenant was so upset?

"Oh, that's right! You were in your room at the time!" she remembered suddenly. "Okay, get this: ZanYi has a brother named Zaron, right? A totally hot brother, with smoldering eyes and amazing hair and—well, anyway, he left about a week ago for Omashu. He's probably on the front lines right now, which is probably why ZanYi's all eager to rush off to his rescue..."

Tiki trailed off, frowning. Really, she was beginning to sympathize with ZanYi more and more. Why _couldn't _they rush off to Zaron's rescue? He was the sergeant major, after all—losing a valuable soldier like that would be unforgiveable.

"I wonder what would happen..." Tiki began, her kitty grin in place, "if we just snuck off base and set off for Omashu ourselves..."

Syaoran looked at Tiki with disbelief in his gaze. "Are you nuts? That sounds like an even worse idea!" he protested, his eyes saying that she was crazy for even suggesting it. "If we had orders, at least we'd have a troop of highly dangerous firebenders around us. Sneaking off to Omashu sounds like a disaster!"

Not that he didn't understand Tiki's incentives. Well, ignoring her odd fan-worship of the lieutenant's brother, that is. He was surprised to hear that the lieutenant had a brother, though probably more surprised that he seemed to be the only one who didn't know that. But family… According to the lieutenant, that was where Syaoran was pulling the passion for his fire. Perhaps he understood why she'd picked up on that.

"I am not sneaking off to Omashu," he reiterated again, looking at the mischievous expression on the airbender's face. He had to say it multiple times, he knew. Syaoran figured out by now Tiki generally need to be told things many times for it to sink in.

"Aw c'mon!" Tiki urged, her feline sneer widening. "It'd be fun, like an adventure! And if we showed up unexpectedly, the Neo-Equalists would never know what hit 'em!" Tiki threw a few kicks and punches at the air. "I bet we'd free the whole _kingdom _if we played our cards right!"

Often times, Tiki and the concept of reality did not keep company. Now was one of those times. She spun on her heel and turned an excited smile on Syaoran. "And you can do anything, Syaoran. You're the Avatar!" she exclaimed, as if he needed reminding. Her faith in him was great—to the point of foolishness—but being the descendant of Avatar Aang, Tiki was pretty much predisposed to believe that Syaoran could do anything he set his mind to.

"I highly doubt all of that," Syaoran responded, crossing his arms at the small girl. There was no way that running off to Omashu was going help save the entire region. It was rash and irrational. And being the Avatar didn't make him invincible; it made him a target. He could earthbend, sure, but compared to the lieutenant and her AKs, there was no way he was even considered a formidable firebender, probably not even competent.

Inside, Syaoran really did want to help the lieutenant. She'd already had to give up her regiment in order to train him. She hardly even saw her AKs since his training had begun. And now her brother was in danger on the front lines, even more so than normal. But Shun and the general made sense, as much as he disparaged it.

Tiki pouted. Syaoran was really no fun, in her eyes. She had to admit, it would really be dangerous if they pranced off to Omashu on their own, but still, it would have been a cool idea...

He sighed reluctantly. His head was proving Shun's point more and more. "I think Shun might be right. It's better to stay here..."

At the mention of Shun, Tiki looked around, not seeing the large waterbender anywhere—which obviously meant he was nowhere to be found nearby. No one could miss Shun, if ever they were looking for him. Her worried look returned.

"Do you think we should find out where they went?" Tiki inquired of Syaoran. "I mean, he said he'd be right back, but it's been a while, don't you think?"

Tiki was fairly certain that ZanYi would not hurt Shun. He was so big and loveable: how could anyone think of hurting him? But then Tiki remembered the look ZanYi had given him before stalking off, and she suddenly wasn't so sure anymore.

After surveying the crowd, Syaoran could not find Shun either. The man certainly was impossible to hide. He also saw no volatile flames or smoke anywhere. "It has been a while..." The Avatar's voice trailed, uncertain as to how to proceed with that information.

Shun was a big guy, and a waterbender. Both of those things worked to his advantage. But at the same time, Syaoran wasn't sure he wanted to find out how deadly the lieutenant was when she was actually trying. He wasn't blind that she was going relatively lax on him during training. And he was still having a hard time.

He hummed, lips pursed in thought. "Well," he eventually decided, looking down at Tiki and finally uncrossing his arms, "if you're up to possibly facing the fury of Lieutenant Tsong, then we could go looking for them…" Syaoran held up a pointed finger, "but we cannot get involved! That wouldn't be good anybody."

He shuddered at the thought.

Tiki's eyes widened at the thought of getting in between the crossfire of Lieutenant Tsong and Shun.

"Absolutely not," she agreed, slinging an arm through Syaoran's and pulling him along. "If they're fighting, we'll just grab a bucket of popcorn and stay back and watch at a safe distance."

And if not for their mutual fear of the lieutenant's wrath, Syaoran probably would have thought she was lying.

* * *

Even the halls were heavy with traffic, soldiers grabbing their bags and running every which way. While the lieutenant had put out her flames, she could not help the hint of smoke that they continued to carry. And it was just her luck that she stumbled upon the one person she wouldn't strike on sight.

"Fin," she called out amongst the noise. At the end of the hall, a young man turned to look at her. Her second lieutenant was decked in uniform and flak jacket, a duffel over his shoulder. This was not a good sign to ZanYi.

"Lieutenant Tsong," he answered back, clearly relieved as the young woman strode toward him. "We've been given orders that the AKs move on out to Omashu immediately. I couldn't find you to relay the orders..."

ZanYi took a deep breath and exhaled it very slowly. The following words were going to be very difficult to get out. "Second Lieutenant Fin," she started very slowly and deliberately, "I will not be leading the AKs this time. You are."

The soldier seemed to grapple with that information. "But… it was your plan that broke us through Omashu last time."

"My orders," the words came out of her mouth like venom, "are to the Avatar. I will join you as quickly as I can in Omashu. But for right now, you are in charge of my unit."

"Understood," Fin replied after a moment's hesitation. The look on his higher officer's face was downright ominous, and he wanted to get out of there before she decided to vent on the closest person available.

Shun arrived just as Fin rushed off to fulfill his orders. He could tell, from the rigid set of the lieutenant's shoulders, that she was still quite upset. He sighed, patting his side to make sure that his canteen was full of water before he approached ZanYi. Just in case.

"ZanYi," Shun addressed her, using her name for a change as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "are you all right?"

That hand, unfortunately, was enough to set her off. ZanYi was a soldier. She was an angry soldier. Therefore, while Shun was much larger than she, the lieutenant was still able to whirl on him and push him against the wall. One of her hands stayed him, the other a fist pulled back and engulfed in fire, turning bluer by the moment.

"What do you think, Shun?" she responded angrily, glaring up at his eyes. There was a lot of unsaid emotion in her eyes at that moment, none of which she would put a name to. "You just put me in a position to choose between my orders and my brother." The flames grew hotter in her grasp. "Don't _ever_put me in this position again."

Taking a deep, controlling breath, the fire was exhausted and ZanYi let go of Shun. Her shoulders were tight, but they sagged a bit. Her gaze remained focused on the waterbender, silent. Shun remained carefully still, meeting ZanYi's gaze unflinchingly.

"I didn't put you in this position," he told her gently. "You already knew that taking Syaoran to Omashu before he was ready would have been a big mistake. I understand that you're worried about your brother, ZanYi, but you can't let yourself be emotionally compromised by this. If your brother is anything like you—and I have strong reason to suspect he is—he will be fine."

Shun spoke calmly, his hands loose by his sides, but the cap on his canteen was off. He was not sure how close he had come to being scorched by the lieutenant, but he was determined not to give her the chance later. No matter how angry she might be with him, he knew she would regret any harm she caused him later. ZanYi was tough, but she was not heartless.

Her shoulders tightened and her fists clenched again. She could feel the heat gathering wherein, but she commanded it to stand down. Last thing the situation needed was a dogfight in the middle of the base.

"I never said Syaoran would be fighting in Omashu," she explained, never breaking her stare from Shun. "The presence would be good morale for the soldiers who have been fighting out in Omashu for _months _without reprieve. In a time such as this, a healer of your caliber would be helpful as well."

Her voice went cold, her eyes hardening. Her brother was out there, in who knows what condition. The mixed battalion was the one fighting this fight, and if she knew her brother, he was at the very front.

"My brother may be many things; strong is one of them. But one thing he does not have out there is the one person who would give up everything to have his back."

Shun tensed, his guard rising with ZanYi's anger. He did not wish to fight with the lieutenant, especially when she was already obviously sick with worry. If he could just talk her down…

"Bringing the Avatar to Omashu would make him an immediate target," Shun countered ZanYi, ignoring her seething look. "Having him in the state he's in would be more of a hindrance than help. Everyone would spend their efforts protecting him instead of fighting the enemy. If anything happened to Syaoran, we would be forced to retreat, which would not help our situation in Omashu in the slightest."

Shun felt a twinge of guilt for speaking of Syaoran in such a manner. The large waterbender knew that Syaoran was in no way helpless, but facts were facts: Syaoran was not ready for Omashu. He had to make ZanYi see that.

Shun took a few daring steps towards ZanYi so that they were only a couple feet from each other. His blue eyes never left her gold ones.

"I know you're worried," he said quietly. "I understand, even if you don't think I do. When you asked me to stay and assist the Avatar, I did, even though I have my own family to search for. I'm worried about them just as much as you must be worried about your brother. But I found the strength to stay, to do what is right. You need to find that strength as well."

Every fiber of ZanYi's being wanted to combust. She felt her hands ablaze and she quickly put it out. Her discipline reigned supreme, as infuriated as Shun was making her. The only fire she couldn't put out was the one in her golden eyes.

"You had an option, Shun. You could've walked away. I never had that option."

She never had an option. She had no choice. Her brother had chosen this life for himself. In the end, ZanYi made the best of her predicament and she was content with her life, her role. She was making a difference in this war. "If not for the Avatar and this little motley crew, I would've been deployed with my soldiers and I could be out there with my brother right now. And when your life is either to stick to the orders you've been given or protect everything you have left, what would you choose?"

She was done. Turning on her heel, she continued down the hall, fists flickering in and out of fire. "Training with the Avatar will continue late this afternoon. I'll meet you all at the loading bay for departure."

The waterbender was only alone but a moment when a chirpy voice called out to him. "Shun! You're alive!" she cheered, releasing Syaoran to spring at Shun. He was staring in the opposite direction at the time, so when Tiki leapt on him, it took Shun by surprise. Reflexively, he caught Tiki before she made contact, a shocked laugh escaping him.

"Hey Teeks. Yeah, I'm still alive," he assured the little airbender, putting her back down on the ground. "Why? Were you and Syaoran taking bets on whether or not I'd return in one piece?"

Shun grinned, but it was strained. He had crossed a line with the lieutenant, he knew it. While he hoped this would not affect their working relationship, Shun could not help but think that ZanYi would be extra fierce on Syaoran when his training resumed in the late afternoon.

"No, no bets," Syaoran denied, continuing to walk over to where Shun and Tiki were. "Though there was a bit of concern..."

He noted the look on Shun's face and also observed the absence of his teacher. And by his mathematics, that was not good. Syaoran's expression dampened even further. His heart dropped and adrenaline spiked. "Clearly things didn't go well…" he said slowly, gauging the tension in Shun's gait. And considering how calm the man normally was in relation to how he seemed at the moment, it was not a good ratio.

"You're going to get me killed later, aren't you?"

Shun grimaced.

"I didn't mean to," he rushed to explain, feeling guilty. "I was only trying to help… but I may have pressed all the wrong buttons in the process."

"What happened?" Tiki wanted to know, her eyes wide.

Shun shook his head. He had no desire to relive the unpleasant encounter with ZanYi. "The lieutenant and I just failed to see eye-to-eye," he said with an almost casual shrug of his shoulders, "let's just leave it at that."

Tiki watched him for a moment more before turning to Syaoran.

"You're so dead," she told him point blank, consenting to pat his arm consolingly.

Syaoran grumbled and groaned at the realization and buried his face in a hand. Not only was the lieutenant still upset, but things had gotten even worse. He was barely keeping pace before. "I'm going to become a crispy critter," he muttered to himself, marveling at his fate. Being the Avatar was supposed to be a good thing, and yet, it was only getting him in more trouble.

"I think we're all doomed."

* * *

**A/N from Eva: Oh dear...stuff just hit the fan, didn't it? o.o Here's where things start picking up pace! Stick with us, dear readers-we'll take you places you've never been before, ha ha.**

**R.A.T.G: Thank you very much! The characters get further in depth as the story goes on, don't worry! Please keep reading!  
**

**Have DJ an I mentioned that we love reviews? Because we do. Please review and let us know what you think!  
**


	6. The Decision

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire**

**By Twins of the Pen**

******Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

* * *

With every passing day, it grew even more eminent how doomed Syaoran was. Sure, he had survived the days of training. No, he was not yet a crispy critter. If anything, sometimes it felt like a calm before a storm. When he messed up, the lieutenant would get really quiet first, taking deep breaths, then slowly tell him how to rectify it. Which was not, on the whole, a bad thing.

But that wasn't the whole. It was when the sparring would pick up that he noticed her sometimes using more advanced techniques, the flame just a bit hotter. Combine that with her sullen, grave expression, the air was even more stifling than before.

And when it came time for the post-practice healing, she generally would walk away, head toward base and then allow some of the healers there to patch her up. Syaoran noticed it was scarring her a bit more than if she had allowed Shun's help, but he was not about to voice that. He wasn't going to say a word.

So when she said, "Again," Syaoran booked it to his feet. With a ferocious grunt, he pivoted on the ball of his foot, axing the other leg as it kicked flames at his teacher. It struck her against her collarbone and shoulder, but ZanYi rolled out the flames and did the motion herself. However, when she did it, there was a lot more heat and velocity packed in it. Unable to dodge the broad swipe coming at him, he raised an earthy wall in front of him, the flames spreading to either side.

With hesitance, he peered around it to see the expansive and extensive scorch mark on the stone. He had to keep himself from gulping. Especially when his teacher proceeded to rebuke him in a sharper tongue. "You have to get out of the habit of depending on your earthbending," ZanYi told him again, eyes stern. "You won't be able to master firebending until you can get into the mindset of a firebender and dodge more quickly."

Syaoran nodded slowly, but ZanYi pursed her lips and then looked at the darkening sky. It was after a moment of much contemplation she conceded, "You're done for the day."

Tiki sighed from her place in a tree nearby. She had been watching the practice with baited breath, as she had ever since ZanYi's regimen grew fiercer. Tiki, personally, was worried that Syaoran was going to be burnt beyond recognition by the time ZanYi was finished with him, if this kept up. And the little airbender had definitely noticed the lieutenant's new treatment of Shun. Not for the first time, Tiki wondered just what Shun had said to ZanYi to make her so angry.

"Here," she said, offering Syaoran a water bottle, as was her custom these days, as Shun busied himself with healing the Avatar's burns. Out of the corner of her eye, Tiki eyed ZanYi. "Are you okay, ZanYi? Those burns look nasty," she remarked, her hint not-so-subtle. The lieutenant's once unblemished skin was becoming more and more tarnished as her stubborn protest to Shun's help continued. Just how long was this going to go on for?

Shun looked up at ZanYi, his eyes critical as he inspected the damage. They were severe burns: as Syaoran's firebending techniques improved, so did the heat of his flames. It would take a bit of work to heal those, even for him. But, with the way ZanYi had been regarding him lately…

"Want me to take care of those?" he asked mildly, friendly as always. But his eyes were pleading. It always bothered him when someone was mad at him, because he disliked conflict so much. He almost wished that ZanYi had fire punched him that day instead of this icy silence she was treating him to instead. He had apologized of course, many times, but it seemed not to have any effect. Shun was at a loss, and he felt his spirit stir in guilt every time Syaoran had to block or take a rather fierce blow from the lieutenant.

ZanYi fixed Shun with a sterile glance before looking to Tiki. "I'll be fine, Tiki," she assured the younger, no longer barking as she did during the training, but not nearly the same as before the troops had left. Nothing had been quite the same. Even Ransik was not around to stand up to the lieutenant.

Syaoran could partially understand. The day they'd met, Lieutenant Tsong and her AKs had just helped them gain a foothold in Omashu, but then a week later, things were turning for the worst. Her brother was on the front lines and it wasn't like she was on the reserves, waiting to be deployed. Her troop was sent on without her. And since then: nothing.

No news. At all.

"I don't know what you did, Shun, but whatever it was, it made a bad situation worse," he mumbled, hoping to keep his voice low. And to his mercy, his teacher did not hear.

Instead, she slowly sunk into the waters pooling beneath the waterfall. ZanYi wordlessly dipped herself into the cool, trying not to grimace or wince as she did so. The Avatar was certainly improving, that was a fact. But she knew it wasn't enough. He still had a ways to go. General Chen wouldn't budge on that.

ZanYi wanted nothing more than to send them back to base, to rest a bit longer in the cold waters. However, that wasn't possible. Without Ransik, she could not allow the Avatar to travel alone. So, with much care and wariness, the lieutenant lifted herself back up from the waters. "Let's get you back to base, Syaoran."

Shun sighed quietly. Of course. A little thing like injuries was not going to reconcile ZanYi to him. He spared Syaoran and Tiki a faint smile before turning and heading into deeper parts of the lake.

"Where are you going?" Tiki asked him, hoping quite fervently that he was not planning to do anything drastic… like drowning himself in the lake in penance.

"You guys go ahead," he said, his back to them as he lowered himself into his bending stance. "I need to practice. I haven't needed to waterbend in a while, but it's dangerous to let myself get rusty." With that, Shun slowly worked his arms, manipulating the ebb and flow of the lake waters. The wave he was creating was getting larger with every push and pull he gave it.

Tiki peered at Shun in concern, and then looked over at Syaoran, lifting a shoulder as if to say, "Well, what else can we do?"

At the very least, ZanYi gave Shun a cursory nod of approval. Grabbing the jacket she had discarded at the beginning of practice, she gestured to both Tiki and Syaoran. The lieutenant then proceeded to lead them back to base. The metalbenders gave her a curious look when they noted one of their numbers was not present, but considering everyone knew that she was not the most forgiving to the waterbender as of late, they said nothing before allowing them passage.

"Dinner will be served soon," she told them, but before she could continue, an officer interrupted her, having leapt up from his seat at the computers to bound over to them.

"Lieutenant Tsong," he started, and once he received her eyebrow response, he continued, "We have news from the Omashu forces. General Chen wants to see you immediately." And for the first time in days, a flicker of something other than anger sparked in her gaze. Without a word, she made quick down the hall to the general's office.

Syaoran watched after her, looked to Tiki, then to the grunt. "Is it good news?" he asked, trying to keep the hope contained in his voice.

The officer looked at him with a look of dismay. "It's a mixed bag."

Syaoran looked back to Tiki at that, wincing. "I really hope things can't get worse."

Tiki, who was finding less and less reasons to smile nowadays, returned Syaoran's concerned look.

"Somehow..." she began seriously, "I think they can."

Tiki was rarely ever a pessimist. Ever smiling, she chose to always look to the brightest side she could find in the darkest situation. However, after getting accustomed to the tension of military life, Tiki was slowly discovering that there was not always a bright side to look forward to—just a slightly less dark side, if they were lucky.

Tiki hoped fervently that this situation was the slightly less dark one.

* * *

Shun slowed his breathing, almost in a trance, the wave he had been working on when Syaoran and the others left now ten feet tall. He was focusing on trying to maintain this wave for as long as possible, actually sweating a little from the effort. A full moon was already present in the darkening sky, meaning that his bending would be in top form tonight. If he could just hold his concentration…

The scathing look ZanYi had given him days ago, when he had sided with General Chen, flitted across Shun's mind. His concentration wobbled, as did the enormous wave, before completely breaking. The wave came crashing down on him, filling the lake once more. Shun stood there, feeling as if a giant bucket of water had just been dumped over him. He spat out his mouthful of water in a dejected manner.

This silent treatment the lieutenant was treating him to was bothering him more than he realized. With a slow shake of his head, Shun decided to practice his water whip this time around. This move required all this concentration, so if his mind wandered from anywhere but his bending, he would regret it. And he was desperate to keep his mind away from the angry lieutenant at all costs.

* * *

"You have news from the troops, sir?"

There was no greeting, no consideration. It was the first words that she could process as she entered the general's office. Surely, if she had not been with the Resistance as long as she had, there would have been a reprimand. Thankfully, General Chen allowed her these moments of rudeness on occasion. The man was leaning over his desk, surveying the world map on his desk and its accompanying war markers.

"Yes, and do come in, Lieutenant," General Chen answered, raising a hand to usher her in. ZanYi closed the door behind her, her eyes focused on the aging general. Every week and every month out her on the base seemed to age him further. She was biting at the bit to encourage him to reveal what he had been told, but she said nothing.

"We managed to re-secure our portion of Omashu," he eventually said solemnly, looking over the locations of his units on the large spread before him.

"That's great news. And—?"

"Sergeant Major Tsong is alive and well."

That was the news she'd hoped most for and it was enough to lift a large weight from her heavy heart. She reveled in that for a moment in silence, closing her eyes to breath in the relief. The burns on her body did not seem as bad anymore either. Her brother was alive and well. They had secured their foothold in Omashu.

"That's all excellent news," ZanYi breathed, a hopeful fire in her eyes, her expression satisfied. But she noticed that the general was not as relieved as she. She began to frown. "So what else happened?"

General Chen exhaled before looking up at ZanYi. "Second Lieutenant Fin was lost in the fight."

A couple bricks were added back onto her morale. She stilled, and her breath become bated. Second Lieutenant Fin had gone through training with her, comrades since boot camp. The guy had come from a nonbender family, with parents that kicked him out when the war started. Who was going to tell his brother back home? This was not good news. "The rest of the AKs…?"

"A few others were lost, but most survived. Which leads me to my next question…" General Chen took a seat then, steepling his fingers as he gazed seriously at her. "Lieutenant Tsong, how is the Avatar's training going?"

When her brow puckered in mild confusion, he seemed to understand, because then he continued.

"The AKs need a leader. Lieutenant Tsong, I need to know if I can send you to Omashu."

* * *

After a little bit, Shun was admitted back into the base, nodding gratefully to the metalbenders he passed. There was a stinging scratch across his face that he was wondering whether or not he should heal. It was causing him discomfort, definitely, but it was a good lesson for him at the same time. Whipping himself across the face with his own water whip was embarrassing, and served him to remind himself that his bending deserved his _full concentration_.

Deciding to turn in early for the night, Shun had slipped on his jeans over his soaked shorts and slung his t-shirt over his shoulders before heading back to base. Enticing smells were wafting from the Mess Hall as Shun passed by, and he figured he might as well have a bite to eat before going to bed. Once he had his food, the large waterbender scanned the Mess Hall for his companions. It wasn't hard: the dining hall was barely half-full, and Tiki's orange jacket made her stick out.

"Anything interesting happen?" Shun asked of Tiki and Syaoran as he sat down next to the little airbender, noticing the anxious buzzing of the few military officers who remained at the base.

Tiki shrugged. "Lieutenant Cranky was called away earlier," she informed Shun, first checking around carefully to make sure ZanYi was nowhere nearby before she addressed her as such, "but we have yet to know what the score is."

Shun frowned. "I hope everything's okay."

He didn't have to wait long to find out. The anxious chatter quieted as the lieutenant in question entered the mess hall. Eyes looked to her as she entered, including the Avatar and his motley crew. The woman seemed to be in a neutral state of mind as she stood before the onlookers, carefully guarded. He wasn't sure how to take that, considering the cold anger she'd had the past few days.

ZanYi cleared her throat then announced, "We have secured our foothold in Omashu."

The anxiety in the room ceased to exist as the remaining soldiers began to cheer and clap. ZanYi nodded and moved over to the Avatar's table. Syaoran found this to be good news indeed, but when she stopped at their table, her eyes were carefully guarded and only looking at him.

"Syaoran, the general needs to speak with you now," she told him. His brow furrowed, unsure how to take that.

"Huh? Uh, okay…" he said slowly, rising and, knowing at least the way there by now, he walked on his own to see General Chen. However, Syaoran did not cease to notice the tight, clasped hands the lieutenant had held, nor the stiff gait unlike her fiery disposition of late.

"Tiki," Shun said warningly; the little airbender had half-risen from the table. She planted herself back down, turning a frown onto Shun.

"Why can't we go too?"

"Because the general asked for Syaoran," Shun pointed out, already halfway through his dinner. "Just Syaoran."

Tiki pouted. "You're no fun," she complained, and the large waterbender chuckled. Turning, Tiki decided to consult their second source of information: ZanYi. "So?" Tiki pressed, leaning forward as if the excitement was too much. "What does General Drum and Snare want with Syaoran?"

Shun looked inquiringly at Tiki's odd nickname for General Chen, but thought it best not to ask.

ZanYi debated whether she should even sit down. She did not know how long the conversation would run between the general and Syaoran, nor what the outcome would be.

In the end, she grabbed some food herself and sat down, though she gave herself distance between the other two at the table. "He wants to discuss Syaoran's firebending training," she eventually said, carefully placed between bites.

"What about Syaoran's firebending training?" Tiki asked, ignoring Shun's looks of warning. She stood up to stand across from where ZanYi was sitting. "And why are they having a conversation about Syaoran's firebending training without you? You're his master, you should be—"

A sudden thought struck Tiki, and she eyed the lieutenant warily. Could it be that ZanYi was not with the general and the Avatar during this crucial conversation of his training because…

"You're not… you know… under inquiry or something, are you?" Tiki asked delicately. A spurt behind her told Tiki that Shun had spewed his drink, but she was too intent upon ZanYi's face. She didn't care if it sounded silly; it was a legitimate question!

ZanYi looked at Tiki with a disgusted bemusement. "Under inquiry? Why would I—?" The lieutenant cut herself off, not even bothering with the line of questioning. It was Tiki she was speaking with. Therefore, it was inferable that the conversation would not always make sense.

"I might be transferred to Omashu," she reported instead, continuing to eat her meal, but her grip on the spoon was tight, just like her back. It would all depend on the conversation between the general and Syaoran. And she hated that, hated that the decision would be made without her.

But she knew this. She had relented her rights to the decision—why, ZanYi was starting to wonder herself. But the lieutenant knew this was the way it had to be done. It just did nothing for her state of mind.

Tiki's eyes widened significantly at this piece of news.

"Really?!" she exclaimed, looking awed and excited at the same time and drawing the eyes and mutters of those surrounding them. But Tiki could care less. "That's awesome! Finally, you'll get to go to Omashu!"

"She said 'might', Teeks," Shun said quietly. He had become rigid since the news of the lieutenant's possible transfer reached his ears, and he was not quite sure how he felt about it. "And what happened to teaching the Avatar firebending?"

"Oh yeah!" Tiki realized, "what about Syaoran? Is he gonna have a new teacher? He can't go to Omashu with you, obviously, since he isn't ready just yet…"

The lieutenant was too stiff, Shun thought, watching her surreptitiously from the corner of his eye. There was something she probably was not telling them about his arrangement. But whatever it was, Shun did not feel comfortable enough to ask. His mouth had already gotten him in trouble; he did not wish to become a repeat offender.

ZanYi could not share Tiki's excitement on the matter. In fact, it only made her more agitated and on edge. This was not how she wanted to go to Omashu, if she ended up being allowed to go at all. This should never have happened by her count.

"It is up to the Avatar whether I stay or go to Omashu," she was able to explain calmly, trying her best not to let her insides get a hold of her. But all she could think of, now that she knew her brother was safe, was about Second Lieutenant Wei-Bin Fin. How excited he was when he got promoted to her second in command. How happy he was when he got those letters from his brother, the only family member that would even speak to him.

He may not have been her family, but that did not make losing him not difficult. And it was hard to get it out of her mind. "So, after Syaoran's discussion with General Chen, we'll know where I'll be stationed at."

* * *

Unlike his teacher, when Syaoran reached the door to the general's office, he knocked soundly on the door. It was when he heard the permission of General Chen that he opened the door, hesitant still, and slipped inside. He found the man waiting patiently at his desk.

"Have a seat, Avatar Syaoran," he suggested, gesturing to one of the chairs in front of his big steel desk. Syaoran complied, sinking into the firm, but lush chair.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Syaoran inquired, receiving a slow nod in return.

"Yes. I would like to know how comfortable you feel your firebending training is going."

Syaoran was uncertain what this had to do with the recent news. "I suppose it's going good," he answered honestly, as best he could. "I've come a long way since I first arrived, at least." He'd also received several injuries since then, but all easily healed by Shun.

General Chen simply nodded, as if this were to be expected. However, he also seemed on the fence about something. "But you would not say you have mastered firebending?"

Syaoran frowned. "With the way the lieutenant continues to knock me on my butt, no, Sir."

The corner of General Chen's lip upturned, but he did not smile. This only made Syaoran more uncertain of where this was going. He was spared having to ask, however, because the general then spoke up.

"Would you say you are confident enough to go to Omashu?"

Syaoran was dumbfounded, staring intently at General Chen, as if he were a different man than the one he'd seen arguing with the lieutenant every day of the past week. "Why the sudden change of mind?" he did manage to ask.

The elder heaved a dark sigh. "We may have won our portion of the city, but we lost some good men and women out there." Noting the look on Syaoran's face, he quickly added, "Don't worry. Sergeant Major Tsong was not among them. However, Lieutenant Tsong's second-in-command was."

And suddenly her rigid stance in the mess hall was starting to make more sense. Syaoran's expression grew somber. "So that means…?"

"That means I need someone to take over the Agni-Kais. And I want your teacher. But only if you're up to it."

The Avatar grew puzzled then. "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure how my opinion matters in this," he said, growing confused again. He watched as the man stood from his chair, glancing over the troops on his map, spread about to all parts of the globe.

"The options are for you to continue your training with her here, continue training while she's on the front lines in Omashu, or we find a new master to teach you firebending." General Chen looked up at Syaoran then. "She left the decision to you."

No pressure. He just had to decide whom he wanted as a firebending master so he could basically chain them down to a location. No big deal. "Is there any way I can have time to think about this?" he queried.

"I suppose you can," General Chen spoke slowly, as if regretting his words before they were even out. "Though I will say, if she's available to, I would like the lieutenant to leave first thing in the morning. And, in light of the events, I think she would want to know so she could try and leave tonight."

Syaoran knew that part very well, surprised that his teacher had not jumped on board to go to Omashu. Despite how upsetting it was for her to be grounded at the base that past week, Lieutenant Tsong had given the decision to him to make. She had not taken advantage of the situation. And while going to Omashu still frightened him dearly, he could not forget to take into account the sacrifices the lieutenant had already made for him.

So, with an aggrieved groan, he sat back in the chair began to think heavily about this.

* * *

"So, basically, Syaoran decides whether you stay or go," Shun surmised, watching ZanYi's face carefully. No wonder she was holding herself so rigidly; she was trying to stay in control of herself. No doubt this decision hanging in the balance was wreaking havoc on her nerves and emotions.

Tiki's thoughts, however, appeared to take a different avenue, one that might better explain the lieutenant's more-rigid-than-usual posture.

"ZanYi," she began, almost fearing the answer, "your brother… is he all right?"

Did her brother die on the front lines? Was that why ZanYi was suddenly needed in Omashu? Tiki swallowed; her throat had just gone dry. Was the lieutenant considering going to Omashu to take her brother's place?

ZanYi looked at Tiki with a bit of a softer glaze in her eyes. "Yes, Zaron is fine and well," she was able to answer. And that was enough to loosen some of the knots, like saying it aloud made it even more real. Despite the struggle, her brother was fine. "Zaron is alive…" the lieutenant found herself saying again, assuring herself.

But it had the opposite effect, and it only made the other reality bubble back up, and she tightened again. "But he was among the lucky," ZanYi divulged. "Second Lieutenant Fin was not as lucky."

The firebender almost felt her pain bubbling to the evident surface, but she did not allow it. Instead, her tone came out strained, as if the neutrality was killing her inside. And ZanYi supposed it might have been, figuratively. Especially since she would have to be the one to inform the families.

Tiki stared at ZanYi, her eyes the widest they had ever been.

This was war, of course: not everyone was guaranteed to come back home when fighting. But still, it was an unpleasant shock all the same: no matter how long one was in the military, it was very difficult to get used to death. Tiki could see that in the lieutenant, although ZanYi was putting up a very good fight of not showing it. The man they lost must have meant a great deal to her.

Tiki reached across the table to place a hand on ZanYi's arm. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely, meeting the lieutenant's eyes—something she was always a little intimidated to do—before removing her hand.

Shun remained silent, feeling that Tiki's sentiment was just enough. With a woman like ZanYi, less was always more.

ZanYi managed to give Tiki an acknowledging nod, but that was it. Finished with her meal, the lieutenant stood, unable to stand their company any longer as she awaited the news from Syaoran and the general. But it was just as she rose to her feet that she found Syaoran standing at the end of the table.

She was silent and so was he. ZanYi could not read on his face what the verdict was, and while Syaoran could not read her face either, he already knew what verdict she would have wanted.

"Lieutenant Tsong," he addressed her, eyes focused on her expectant face, "Team Avatar heads out tomorrow morning for Omashu."

Much of the edge disappeared and at last, ZanYi's shoulders sagged marginally. A part of her marveled at the decision, even more so that apparently the rest of the Avatar's group would be accompanying her. It was a miracle he hadn't asked for a new teacher after the past few days.

Nodding, the lieutenant moved past him to leave, but not without muttering, "Thank-you."

"Hold on," Tiki said, looking confused as she approached Syaoran. "We're _all_going to Omashu?"

"Sounds like it," Shun answered, standing up. He was tired, and the cot in his room that was a little too small for him was calling his name. Walking past, the large waterbender paused long enough to give Syaoran an appraising look. The Avatar stood tall, as always, something proud in the way he held himself, even if he was relatively clueless as to what he was doing. But his eyes told all, and said quite plainly that Syaoran's decision came with no small amount of fear.

The large waterbender clasped Syaoran's shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile before he left the Mess Hall. Shun was definitely concerned about Syaoran going to Omashu, which was bound to be an all-out war zone instead of the safe waterfall area they were all used to, but in the end, it was the Avatar's decision. He could have just as easily said that he wanted to stay here, or that he wanted a new firebending teacher. But he did not. Syaoran wanted to go to Omashu with Lieutenant Tsong. Therefore, Shun would accept his decision, and be ready to go first thing tomorrow morning.

"Well," Tiki began, tearing her eyes away from the entrance of the dining hall after Shun had disappeared from it. "I thought it would be much more fun to sneak off to Omashu, but I guess this way doesn't get us in as much trouble."

Tiki's smile faded as she peered up at Syaoran. She reached out a hand to touch his arm as well. "Will you be okay?" she asked, concerned. Syaoran had to be the toughest guy she knew—Shun didn't really count because, for all his height and muscle, he was a giant teddy bear—but tough did not always mean 'fearless'.

Syaoran looked down at Tiki, shrugging. "The way I figure, it can't be any worse than waiting for Lieutenant Tsong to kill me in a training accident." Which was not really the truth. It had taken quite a bit of thought, and even more talking it through with the general, discussing the options.

But when it came down to it, he was learning under the lieutenant, and the lieutenant was needed out there in the war. In both arenas, there wasn't anyone else quite suited to the tasks at hand. And Syaoran could no longer take her away from her duty, not when the consequences were this high.

"Let's go, Tiki," he beckoned, as he walked out of the mess hall. "We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Aye, aye, Captain Syaoran!" Tiki cheered with a mock salute, following her companion out of the room. Despite the dangers they would undoubtedly face in a place as dangerous as Omashu was bound to be, the thought of a new setting was unquestionably exciting. Tiki was sure that she would get little to no sleep tonight.

* * *

**A/N from DJ: Hey guys! So, I'm so grateful to having an awesome accomplice, since last week my internet was limited and I was literally balancing my computer on my knee as I stood on one leg in line at the deli so I could get the file to her. So, kudos to Eva for being able to post Chapter 5 since I was unable to!**

**So, things are picking up, and it's time to recognize some awesome peoples:  
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**R.A.T.G: We just want to say that you're awesome. Seriously, we love getting your reviews. We have a LOT of chapters, so never fret about not having something to read!  
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**jlapark: So, when you finally make it to this chapter, thank you for reading! I hope you continue to enjoy yourself and I look forward to your reactions, since I know from experience they are quite vivid and amusing.  
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**DangerOokami: Thanks for your praises! Trust me: we have kept on writing and there is plenty to read~ We're so glad to have you on board and I hope you enjoy the ride!  
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**That's all for now! I've noticed we have a few favorites that have not put themselves on the alert list. If you like us, fave and alert so you get updated when we do it! Also, we know we have Anon readers out there, so this a heads up: we are moving this over to the Korra section of Avatar. Considering the Neo-Equalists, we think it might be better suited there, so next week look for us over there! See you next Friday!  
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	7. The Camp

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire**

**By Twins of the Pen**

******Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

* * *

"What's the matter, Teeks? You keep yawning. Didn't sleep well last night?" Shun guessed, grinning as the little airbender's mouth opened wide once again. After her big yawn, Tiki stuck her tongue out at him.

Shun chuckled under his breath, and then eyed Syaoran, who was standing on Tiki's other side. The rag-tag group—otherwise known as 'Team Avatar' apparently around base—stood on the outskirts of Omashu, looking down on what was once a great kingdom. Now crippled by the scars of war, Omashu stood war-torn in many places, though Shun had to admit that he was impressed that it was still standing at all.

"What do you think, Avatar?" he asked, curious for Syaoran's opinion.

"It's not the place I remember visiting with my family, that's for sure," Syaoran responded, his eyes never leaving the sight before his eyes. Sure, it was still a mountain city. But the citadel smoked, not of industrial exhausts, but from wreckage and war. From the distance that he was gazing, there even seemed to be a sizeable hole in the side.

"That would be my fault," ZanYi announced, noting the direction in which the Avatar was gazing. "We had to create a diversion to get into the city last time." Pushing onward, she ushered them forward, down a ways. But it was not towards the main gate of the city. Instead, the lieutenant led them to the opposite side of the citadel from the hole.

Syaoran stared at her in confusion as she seemed to brush her fingers about the shrubbery intently. Suddenly, there was a small clang of metal and the successful look on her face told Syaoran she'd found what she was looking for. He observed as she rapped on the metal plate three times, then two more in quick succession. It took a minute or so, but soon the plate shifted away, leaving a whole in the ground beneath the bush.

"After you guys," ZanYi gestured. Syaoran looked from her to the hole in the ground. There was an explosion in the air, and he whirled to find part of the city smoking. He needed no more coaxing. Without another moment's hesitation, Syaoran jumped into the hole, only to find himself sliding all the way down.

ZanYi looked at Tiki before she could join him. "When you get down there, ask them to widen the hole."

Tiki glanced back at Shun, giggled, and then leapt quite joyfully into the hole.

"Whoo-hoo!" she cheered, sliding all the way down and landing on Syaoran, who had not quite gotten out of the way yet. "Oh, hi!" she greeted the metalbenders at the bottom with a grin, still seated on Syaoran's back. "Direct orders from Lieutenant Tsong to widen the hole. We've got a, um, rather large friend with us who needs to get through."

The rather large friend in question peered down at the hole, a horribly familiar and uncomfortable sensation making sweat form on his upper lip.

"Is there, uh, another way in?" Shun suggested mildly, his voice cracking just a little. He did not look at ZanYi; he seemed unable to keep his eyes away from the hole. The very, very small hole that he could get stuck in, if he was not careful. And then who knew what would happen after that? He didn't want to find out anytime soon.

The lieutenant just deadpanned at him, still fairly unforgiving. It had made for a mildly uncomfortable travel to the city to begin with. But she did still have to work with him, and that was a disparaging fact that she had to deal with.

"Unless you want to go through the main gate and face the NEs and a few death traps, no, there isn't," ZanYi retorted. She could fathom why the idea did not appeal to him. The man was huge. But at the same time, this was the safest way in and she was still not going to wear the kiddy gloves in dealing with him.

So when the hole began to widen to an extent at which even Shun could fit down it—ZanYi assumed Syaoran had to be helping them with the sizing—the lieutenant looked at him again with narrowed eyes. "Now, are you going to go down there, or am I going to have to push you down?"

Shun gave the lieutenant a pained look, recognizing that she was still pretty angry with him. The woman could certainly hold a grudge. The large waterbender heaved a great sigh, sat down and swung his legs over the edge of the hole, inching his way in, trying to dawdle. When he knew he could not put it off any longer, Shun took a deep breath, squeezed his eyes shut, and slid into the hole.

There was a whooshing noise, his shirt rode up and his back began to chafe, and then it was suddenly over. Shun opened his eyes and found himself staring up at the end of the tunnel he had just slid through. His heart was pounding as if he had just run a mile, and there was a faint ringing in his ears. Over the ringing, he heard Tiki's voice as she leaned over him with a grin.

"You might wanna move," she suggested. "You probably don't want the lieutenant landing on you."

"I'm getting up," Shun huffed, pushing himself to his feet with some difficulty. The underground spun for an alarming moment, but Shun forced himself to get a grip, and his vision corrected himself. He hastily stepped out of the way of the hole in preparation for ZanYi to slide down.

Which was perfectly timed, since she managed then to slip right down the hole, landing in a crouch on her feet. She nodded to the earthbenders and they closed up the hole, even setting to work on sizing it back down after.

"Let's go," she led sternly, guiding them down a series of well-lit, cavernous halls. Syaoran looked at the size of the tunnel, marveling. It almost looked like the handiwork of a badger-mole and the Resistance had done well stringing the lights about it. When the tunnels came to an end, there was another portal, though this one much larger and straightforward than the previous. And for this one, all she had to do was push it open. "Welcome to the Resistance outpost of Omashu, team."

Syaoran took the first steps out after her, his wondering done. No more was there beautiful handiwork done by the badger-moles. The upright buildings were charred from fire and gunpowder. The streets were uprooted fault lines. The sky was just as it had been up on the hill: dark, cloudy, and desolate.

"It's certainly homey," he muttered under his breath.

Tiki had a small coughing fit beside him. The air here wasn't very clean, she noticed, her eyes watering. She had let Lili fly outside the vehicles they used to get to Omashu, trying to make up for the days Lili had to stay cooped up inside the base while she went to watch Syaoran practice. But the lemur must have taken a wrong turn somewhere, because when they finally reached their destination, Tiki searched the skies but could not find her old friend. The little airbender was worried, of course, but Lili was smart, and the lemur would eventually find her way back to her master… hopefully.

Shun smirked at Syaoran's comment. He could see that the Avatar was less than enthused—he himself was viewing the camp with some trepidation—but if this was what they had to work with, they would just have to make due. War was not often equipped with cushy camps in the first place, and the camps that were cushy usually harbored the troops that truly did not know what war was until it was too late.

"What's our first order of business?" he asked ZanYi, his eyes scanning the camp to avoid the glare she was predisposed to give him nowadays. It was not her that answered though.

"That would be to greet the commanding officers here. Then to join camp."

Syaoran looked up at the unfamiliar voice, finding a man with raven hair and amber eyes standing a ways down the faulted street. He had a bandage around his arm, clothes mildly tattered, but other than that, seemed pretty healthy. It was the dogtags around his neck that informed Syaoran that the man was probably on their side.

However, ZanYi stilled at the familiar sound. Her glance fell to the man and her voice clamored away from her. She took slow movements towards her brother, never leaving his gaze.

"Lieutenant Tsong, reporting with Team Avatar," she managed after a moment, stopping a few paces from her brother. The older sibling's lips lifted at the corner.

"Sergeant Major Tsong, accompanying Team Avatar to the camp."

_'Sergeant Major Tsong?' _Syaoran looked to Tiki and Shun, a question on his face as he discreetly pointed ahead. "Is that the brother?" he asked under his breath.

"Sure is," Shun replied, for Tiki was drooling too much to pay attention to what Syaoran was saying. The large waterbender smartly reached out and grabbed the back of Tiki's shirt, just as she had started forward with what would surely have been an embarrassing display of infatuation. "Can't you tell? They look a lot alike."

"Do not!" Tiki protested, turning to glare at Shun, surprising him. "Zaron's waaaay better-looking!"

"Don't let the lieutenant hear you saying that," Shun warned with a smirk, holding tighter to Tiki as she squirmed, trying to get closer to the sergeant major. "She's already irritated with us enough as it is."

"She's irritated with _you_," Tiki corrected him mercilessly, "because you backed her into a corner."

Shun's smirk faded and he said nothing else.

Syaoran looked to the two siblings and then back to his comrades. "I'm with Shun on this one: they look almost exactly alike," he agreed. The Avatar gave his waterbending companion a sympathetic look. He really did feel bad for the guy.

"She is pretty mad at you," he did note begrudgingly. Syaoran would have hated to be in Shun's place for the past week. The lieutenant was bad enough shooting fire at him during training; he didn't need a verbal onslaught as well.

However, said lieutenant then turned to the motley crew and waved them down. "We're going now to camp," she said, and Zaron nodded in agreement from her side. When the two turned and started walking away in utter synchronization, Syaoran had to suppress a shudder.

"They are exactly alike."

"Maybe not," Shun disagreed as they followed after the Tsong siblings, with him keeping a careful grip on a disgruntled Tiki. "If I recall correctly, in the brief time that I spoke with him, Zaron seemed to have a better sense of humor than ZanYi. I could be wrong, though," the large waterbender readily admitted.

"Shun, let go of me!" Tiki insisted, still struggling in his grasp. "I haven't even said hi to Zaron yet!"

"You can say hi to him later," Shun attempted to placate her. It did not work; Tiki twisted in her grip to give him a scowl almost worthy of the lieutenant.

"How about _I_start giving you the cold shoulder as well then?" she threatened.

"Don't break my heart, Teeks," Shun pleaded, ruining the effect by grinning. Tiki let out a huff and crossed her arms, but she stopped struggling against the large waterbender's grasp at last. He kept a firm grip on her, though. Just in case.

Zaron, however, was not hard of hearing. "And why are you giving the waterbender the cold shoulder?" he asked his sister, speaking quietly as they led the group. He watched his sister's face contort and then revert as she tried to mask the irritation the mere mention gave her.

"He put me in a difficult position back at the base, and now Fin is dead."

Zaron sobered up a little, shooting a brief glance back at the large man. "He's the reason you couldn't come with the AKs?" he double-checked. ZanYi nodded stiffly and then so did he. Zaron made a note to speak with Shun later when everyone else was preoccupied.

Syaoran noticed only the glance, however, and maintained in his mind that the two siblings were purely identical. He could have passed them for twins, but the sergeant major did have a bit more age to him.

"I would watch out if I were you, Shun," he warned the healer, keeping close eyes on both Tsongs. "If they are as alike as I think they are, you may have even more trouble on your hands."

Shun shrugged, attempting to look unconcerned.

"I am sorry that I upset ZanYi," he said, not bothering to keep his voice down, because she already knew: he had apologized to her enough about it. "But I do not regret siding with General Chen."

"I'm not really sure what the point was in delaying us now, though," Tiki joined in the conversation, despite her previous threats made against Shun, "A few days later and we're here, with Syaoran's firebending powers more or less the same—sorry, Syaoran, but it's kinda true."

Syaoran shrugged Tiki off. He at least liked to think he'd gotten a little better, but that was probably wishful thinking. Instead, he focused on the glare ZanYi had turned around to give Shun at his loud words and winced.

The lieutenant then turned back away, training hard eyes on the camp in the distance. Zaron observed all the interactions, taking note. The somewhat affable atmosphere had certainly shifted and morphed in the past week or so. It made him frown. That wasn't exactly the best of news.

Soon they reached the camp, the wounded strung about everywhere, and the worst of those marked off in a makeshift hospital inside a decrepit building. It was desolate and grim. That was all Syaoran could think about it. ZanYi felt the same, and it weakened her.

"Where are they?" she asked her brother quietly. Where were her AKs? Where was Fin? Zaron knew what she meant and jerked his head over to another tall building that had much less visitors from the camp. Nodding, ZanYi said nothing as she walked over there. It was with a heavy heart that Zaron watched her.

"I'll help you guys get set up," he told the rest of the team, looking back to them. "The lieutenant is going to be a while."

"Why thank you!" Tiki purred. Shun's grip had slackened, and she took that moment to prance out of his reach and latch onto Zaron's arm immediately. "You're such a gentleman, Zaron~!" Said firebender could only look down at her with a grimace

Shun, who had been watching the lieutenant walk away, returned his attention back to Tiki with a smirk that was half-amused and half-exasperated. There she went, making a fool out of herself again. Trying to suppress a grin—and failing—the large waterbender went and plucked Tiki off the ground, slinging her over one of his broad shoulders.

"After you, Sergeant Major," Shun said with an apologetic look, ignoring the way Tiki beat her fists on his back and demanded to be released. The little airbender sent Syaoran a desperate look.

"Help me!" she mouthed to him, not wanting to alert Shun. Really, it wasn't fair that the much larger man was treating her like a child—she already told him she was nineteen! She could handle herself; she just got a little… excited when Zaron was around.

Syaoran snickered. In his personal opinion, Tiki was a lot better off up where she couldn't bug anyone. "You're on your own," he mouthed back to her, moving to stand next to Shun, where he also couldn't see Tiki's face any more. "Sergeant Major Tsong?"

Zaron turned to look at him and Syaoran gulped. The Tsong siblings really did look alike, aside from him missing the death glare that the lieutenant had adopted as of late. "Um, it's nice to meet you," Syaoran said, holding out a hand.

The sergeant major took it easily, giving it a firm shake. "It's an honor, Avatar. And a bit of advice for your firebending." Syaoran looked at the man expectantly, wanting to hear what he said next. Zaron smirked a little bit. "Don't hold yourself to my sister's standard."

Syaoran watched as Zaron led them to one of the nearby buildings, taking into account what the sergeant major said. It allowed for him to have hope. "That was… surprisingly helpful," he mumbled.

"I told you he was more easy-going," Shun muttered with a smile.

"And hotter," Tiki took a momentary break from her pouting to assert. Shun chuckled under his breath and followed Zaron into the building he led them to, being careful to duck so Tiki would not slam her head on the doorway.

The building was not quite as worn down as it was on the outside. Soldiers were everywhere, some even taking the time to play cards out in the lobby. Others were continuing to patch each other up. Zaron gestured down one of the halls. "You all will be placed down this way."

As they walked, Syaoran noticed the many rooms they had passed, noting the signs above the doorways. It seemed the building used to be a school or something of that matter. There were also corkboards all along the hall, though by now they were littered with military assignments.

"This will be your quarters for your stay in Omashu," Zaron said up ahead, and Syaoran turned to the room in question. There were no windows in the room and it was rather on the smaller side. But it held four cots in the room, each with the bare essentials for sleeping on it.

"Is this—?"

"This room is for all of you, yes," Zaron answered, without waiting to hear the rest of the question. Syaoran wanted to hang his head. Shun would be fine to withstand. Tiki would take forever to shut-up at night. And then sharing quarters with the lieutenant… "Lieutenant Tsong may be running the AKs for the time being, but she also still has orders to Team Avatar and therefore will be bunking with you all."

Syaoran was not sure what to think of that, but Shun froze, and then turned to stare at Zaron.

"Please tell me you're joking," he pleaded, his throat suddenly dry. "In case you haven't noticed, your sister is not exactly on speaking terms with me at the moment."

Tiki snickered, taking one of the beds on the left. "Better sleep with one eye open tonight, Shun," she teased.

Shun sighed. He was not afraid of the lieutenant, as Tiki was implying. But he was not too keen over the idea of sharing quarters with a woman who made it very clear that she detested him.

"I suppose there isn't room for me to stay elsewhere?" he asked Zaron, already suspecting it was hopeless. He did not wish to inconvenience anyone, but it may be better if he stayed as far away from the lieutenant as he could conceivably get away with.

Zaron shook his head. "No can do. This is the only space we have that could fit you all without compromising anyone else or the Avatar's safety."

Syaoran huffed. That was it; he knew there would be a reason for the lack of windows in the room. This did not surprise him, and he could not say he cared. After so much time between the encampment and the Resistance base, it's not like he was used to having a view. But he did feel sorry for Shun. This was not going to be a pleasant experience. Syaoran grabbed the nearest bed to him, dropping down the sack that the general had given to him to hold a spare change of clothes. Zaron then looked appraisingly at Shun.

"May I speak with you for a moment?" he asked, nodding to the hallway.

Syaoran eyed the sergeant major with wariness. This was not comforting. Leaning over to Tiki's cot, he muttered, "I think we might need to prepare to be Shun's back-up."

Tiki's lower lip jutted out. She considered mutiny for a moment, still irritated by Shun's treatment of her earlier. But when she saw the large waterbender looking so guilty as he followed Zaron out into the hall, she heaved a gusty sigh that caused her to levitate off her cot a few inches.

"Yeah, all right," she agreed grudgingly, standing and creeping over to the doorway. She pressed a conspiratorial finger to her lips and winked at Syaoran as she flattened herself against the wall, sneaking glances every now and then into the hall.

Syaoran shook his head. "That's not what I meant by back-up, Tiki," he groaned. Moving from his cot, he did as Shun would do. Taking the neck of Tiki's shirt, Syaoran pulled the airbender back to her cot, ignoring her protests. "Until we start seeing flames, I think Shun is safe," he concluded, sitting the girl down. "Therefore, we need to stay right here."

Tiki sighed, giving Syaoran a pitying look.

"Are you always this…"

Tiki paused, trying to figure out what adjective suited Syaoran best. Too many came to mind, so she ended up saying, "Well, you know how you are."

Really, sometimes he was way too stuffy. Tiki understood that he had a heavy duty placed on his shoulders, but would it kill him to get into a little mischief once in a while?

"I'll bet you've never broken a rule in your life," she assumed, quirking a brow as if challenging Syaoran to contradict her. In fact, she was kind of hoping he would.

"I've broken rules before," Syaoran did contradict her with a cross of his arms. "I just know when to follow them. Like now."

Breaking rules in the encampment? Punishment by Neo-Equalist torture. Breaking rules at home? Face the wrath of his mother. Either way, it did not end well for him. "What about you, Tiki?" he reversed, quirking a brow. "Has there ever been a time you've actually obeyed the rules? Without someone forcing your hand?"

The doubting look Tiki wore when Syaoran spoke of his law-breaking past was wiped away when he posed the opposite of her question back to her.

"Nope," Tiki lied lightly, swinging her legs back and forward from the edge of the bed.

In truth, there was a time she had obeyed a rule—or an order, more like—without question or hesitation, though she could hardly say that her hand had not been forced. In fact, her whole family had been compromised. Just before her parents were taken, her mother had given her one last order:

_"Run."_

And Tiki had obeyed. She was still obeying that command when she had come across Syaoran… but that wasn't something the Avatar really needed to know.

"I haven't heard any cries of pain yet," she remarked as she glanced at the doorway, obviously changing the subject.

Syaoran continued to look Tiki a moment longer, wondering if there was something she wasn't saying. Then again, these days it felt like everyone had something they were not saying. So instead of prodding, Syaoran averted his eyes to the hall as well.

"Maybe Shun was right in saying that the siblings weren't exactly alike," he said reluctantly. It was still eerie how similar the two were, no doubt. But considering there was no smoke or fire yet, even just present and not being thrown, there had to be some difference. "Hopefully it's not something else that's going to get me killed by the lieutenant later."

"Hopefully," Tiki agreed, smirking a little. It faded soon after, however. "When do you think she'll calm down?" she inquired of the Avatar, turning a worried look on Syaoran.

Her treatment of Shun was causing Tiki to feel very sorry for him. Though she had been all for heading to Omashu as soon as ZanYi had asked, Tiki also had to admit that Shun had a fair point and was only looking out for Syaoran. But still, had Shun's opinion truly been the deciding factor?

"Why do you think the lieutenant got so mad at Shun, though?" Tiki asked with no small amount of confusion. "The general already said that she couldn't go before Shun even said anything. Don't you think she kinda took all her frustration out on Shun?"

Syaoran considered it for a moment. "Part of it probably was the fact that she was already frustrated with the decision," he started, considering it. "But at the same time, Shun kind of cemented the decision before the lieutenant could make a case for herself."

And then he kept thinking about it. It was that line of thinking that made him sink to his cot, frustrated a bit himself. "And if you think about it, if we had not been there, she would have been able to come straight to Omashu with Ransik and the AKs." Was it his fault then? The men that died because the lieutenant didn't lead them, was that on him? Syaoran huffed, "I guess I should be lucky she pinned the blame on Shun and not me."

"…I guess that's true," Tiki replied, twirling a strand from one of her twin tails around her finger. "It's just as much your fault as it is Shun's that ZanYi couldn't leave with her troop right away…"

Tiki frowned. Did the lieutenant realize this and was just putting that aside so she could train the Avatar properly? If that were true, why couldn't she just take the same liberties with Shun?

"Probably because she's not exactly responsible for him, even if she was the one who asked him to stick around," Tiki muttered to herself. She turned an appraising eye onto her companion. "You owe Shun a solid, it looks like."

Syaoran remained silent for a moment, basking in the realization. He bowed his head between his knees, ruffling his hair with a hand as. "I guess I do owe Shun, don't I...?" he agreed, twisting his lip. This whole thing had turned into such a mess, and it didn't even matter now that they were in Omashu.

He looked up to Tiki, a question on his tongue. But he debated the answer, because he wasn't sure he wanted to follow through. "Do you think it would help at all if I talked to the lieutenant?" he inquired. It was a frightening concept, but he almost wondered if it would help.

Tiki's eyes widened at the thought.

'_Not unless you have a death wish,_' she wanted to say, but ended up swallowing the words instead. The little airbender slowly realized that she was not exactly being fair: ZanYi had been through an ordeal, so it was only natural that she would be in a bad mood. Her ill temperament had just lasted longer than Tiki—or anyone else—had anticipated.

"I don't know…" Tiki replied slowly, her nose wrinkling as she thought it through. "On the one hand, Shun, the sweetest guy I've ever met, managed to offend the lieutenant with words only, which is kind of an impressive feat, in a terrible way." Tiki pulled her legs under her, still thinking. "But you and ZanYi seem to see eye-to-eye more than the rest of us. And if it weren't for you, she wouldn't even be here right now. So you could say that she owes you the courtesy of listening to what you have to say…"

Tiki's eyes found Syaoran's, uncharacteristically serious. "I'd word your argument very carefully if you decide to go through with it," she advised him. "You're risking a little more than Shun was risking. If you and ZanYi end up disagreeing, she'll show you no mercy."

Tiki silently chided herself after finishing that sentence. She should not be so negative. Things could work out, just as long as Syaoran was careful…

…But just in case they didn't, at least Syaoran had an accomplished healer he could count on.

* * *

Shun, who initially could see Tiki as he faced Zaron, tried not to pay her any attention. He was a tad more concerned with what—or rather, whom—Zaron wanted to talk to him about.

"So..." the large waterbender began, but then trailed off, unsure of what to say. He didn't feel the need to explain himself—not exactly—but somehow still felt guilty. It was the sergeant major's sister he had offended, after all.

Zaron was thankful that Shun had agreed so easily. It was best to do this ZanYi was still thoroughly preoccupied, as she would be for a bit. He looked up at Shun with those amber eyes that he shared with his sister.

"So," the sergeant major repeated, crossing his arms, "you're the reason ZanYi was unable to come with the AKs, right?"

He already knew the answer from his lieutenant sister. So he did not wait for a response. Instead he reached out a hand for Shun to shake, sincerity on his serious face.

"Thank-you."

Shun blinked in surprise. Admittedly, he had not expected this.

"You're welcome?" Shun replied uncertainly, shaking Zaron's hand. He could tell the sergeant major was not being insincere, but he was not exactly sure what to make of it. Still, he would happily accept Zaron's gratitude rather than face his anger.

Dropping the shake, Zaron placed his hands on his sides, gazing up at the large waterbender. "I know she has been giving you trouble, all of you. But because of you, it's not my sister in the morgue." The sergeant major's face grew grave and solemn at the thought. "It was an ambush. If ZanYi had been leading the Agni-Kais, she would have died out there."

Shun frowned at this bit of news. He wondered if ZanYi knew that yet.

"Then, I'm afraid I don't deserve your gratitude, Sergeant Major," Shun said, feeling he had to be honest. "When I sided against Zan—the lieutenant, I mean—and agreed with the general that she should not race off to the front with the Avatar in tow, it was mostly out of concern for the Avatar's safety. Even now, I fear for him, though I kept silent this time around. We are here because Syaoran chose to be, and I have no right to tell him where he can and cannot go. I am glad that your sister remained safe as well, however."

Zaron nodded, seemingly unsurprised. "Considering you are a member of the Avatar's team, I did figure that he was the driving force on the decision. However, that doesn't matter to me."

The firebender leaned back against the wall with a disgruntled huff. "ZanYi grew up with the military; this is her life. Given the choice, she still might prefer to have fought out there with her men." He looked to Shun's gaze with conviction. "It doesn't matter to me what your reasons were, only that she is still alive. I don't care if she's upset. She will get over it," he assured the waterbender.

Shun grimaced at the sergeant major. Though he was sure Zaron knew what he was talking about, ZanYi being his sister and all, his words weren't altogether reassuring.

"Do you happen to have a time frame with that assurance?" he asked. It sounded pathetic, he knew that, but Shun really wished that he could find a way to speed along the process. Having ZanYi this angry with him stung, especially when he had only been trying to do the right thing.

Zaron's lip quirked in the corner. "There is never a time frame with ZanYi," he replied honestly. "But once the shock of losing Fin and the others starts to fade, it'll get better. And one thing my sister values greatly is trust. If she knows you have her back, it'll go a long way."

The tilt of his lips straightened again. Zaron stood up straight and stepped closer to Shun, not intimidated by his stature. "As long as she remains on Team Avatar, I ask you as a soldier and as a man to look out for her. She'd want to kill me if she found out I asked you this, but as long as she remains on your team, ZanYi won't have a league of firebenders that have her back. I need to know she will not be alone out there."

Shun blinked down at Zaron, startled once again. For some reason he did not fully understand, he began to get warm around the ears. ZanYi's brother asking Shun to be personally responsible for his sister seemed like a big responsibility. Shun marveled at the sergeant major, wondering just how much trust the other man was willing to put into him.

"I will do my best, Sergeant Major," Shun promised, bowing to the high-ranking officer. Of course, Shun's best was directly connected to ZanYi's willingness to let him help her, but he did not say that out loud.

Zaron exhaled with a satisfied look on his face. This had been the result he had hoped for. "Thank-you," he commended Shun, "because frankly, out of your rag-tag team, you seem to be the one most fitted to do so." The little airbender, Tiki, seemed to be a child, and the Avatar was not going to be considered the Avatar by him until he'd mastered all of the elements.

"And one more thing to remember," the sergeant major added before turning to leave them. "Don't tell the lieutenant I asked this of you. I don't need to be in the doghouse with you."

Shun laughed, looking wry.

"I wouldn't say anything even if she was speaking to me—the doghouse would get awfully crowded if she condemned you to it as well."

With a final nod to the sergeant general, Shun took his leave and re-entered the room they would be staying in. Tiki jumped up at his arrival, but he held up a large hand to stay her. "Relax, everything's fine," he assured her, grinning, "The sergeant major just wanted to have a quick word, that's all."

"About what?" Tiki demanded to know. Shun shrugged and turned his back to her.

"About this and that," he said vaguely. Shun liked Tiki, he really did—he just didn't need her running her mouth about this to others, least of all ZanYi.

Syaoran snickered at Tiki's dismayed face at being shut out, but he at least was starting to get used to the feeling. It seemed this was happening more and more, but he did not necessarily mind with Shun or ZanYi. Though it was a bit odd that Sergeant Major Tsong had wanted to speak with Shun, Syaoran could only guess what the subject matter was. And therefore, he was staying out of it.

"Well, Tiki and I have been talking…" he started as a lead in, ready to inquire the same of Shun as he'd asked Tiki before. He figured he would get the same kind of response from him as from Tiki, which was not a reassuring feeling. But they had to do something. "We can't let this thing with the lieutenant keep going. Do you think that it would help if I talked to her?"

Truth be told, he did not want to confront Lieutenant Tsong. He'd rather be sent out to the front line in the city than do that. Tiki was right. Shun was the most easy-going guy in their group and he had even managed to set her off. This did not bode well for him at all.

Shun turned to look at the Avatar, mildly surprised.

"Why would you?" he asked curiously. "It's me she's angry with."

"We're all bunking together, Shun," Tiki jumped in quickly to spare Syaoran from answering such a telling question. "Don't you think it'll be a little unpleasant for us as well if things continue this way? It's like two kids caught in the middle of Mommy and Daddy on the verge of divorce!" she cried emphatically.

Shun burst into laughter, as he often did whenever Tiki did or said something outrageous. "Incidentally," he began with a wide grin, "who is the Mommy and who is the Daddy in this relationship?"

"…Nevermind that!" Tiki burst out, not wanting to admit Shun had her stumped there for more than one reason, "The point is that it's about time ZanYi forgave you already! The way she's treating you… it's awful…" Tiki's shoulders slumped, as did her twin tails. Shun didn't deserve such cold indifference. He was only trying to look out for Syaoran's best interests. Why was he still being punished for it?

A pat on her head caused Tiki to look up into Shun's face. He was still smiling indulgently at her, but his bright blue eyes were sad. "You're a good kid, Teeks," he complimented her, "and you too, Syaoran. But I think either of you getting involved in a problem between me and ZanYi would just make things worse. She'll come around. Her brother is sure of it."

Tiki's nose wrinkled again as she frowned up at the large waterbender. "Did he say when?" she asked, uncharacteristically shrewd. Shun grimaced and chose not to answer.

Syaoran nodded along to Shun's words, a bit relieved. Truly, he was terrified about having to cross his teacher. She was bad enough when she was mad at Shun; he shuddered to think what she would do if she became mad at him too.

"So we just wait this out then?" Syaoran concluded, looking at his two comrades. It was not the most hopeful situation, but he supposed it was better than aggravating it. The earthbender leaned back to fall onto his cot, staring up at the ceiling. "I just hope we don't get killed first."

"Why would you all be getting killed?"

He stiffened at the voice and sat straight up, seeing the object of their discussion leaning curiously in the doorway, her arms crossed. Syaoran stifled the urge to gulp and just rolled with it. "Well, we are right on the front line, right?"

ZanYi's lip curled up a corner for a brief moment, and he wasn't sure whether to take that as a good thing or a bad thing. Syaoran could only hope she wasn't going to call him on a lie. Whether she detected it or not, she ignored it and pushed off of the frame.

"Well, rest assured, you're in the safest place on the front lines, utterly surrounded by top-notch soldiers." The lieutenant took the last remaining cot, closest to the door, and dropped down her military-grade duffel.

"I'm gonna go find a bathroom," Shun said promptly, heading for the door.

"Gotta shave again?" Tiki teased, eyeing the stubble on the large waterbender's face. Shun gave her a wink and proceeded to disappear from view.

"I wonder if he would look like a bear if he let himself grow a beard," Tiki mused out loud to Syaoran, eager to keep the conversation moving away from the dangerous waters they were almost surely drowned in. "I've never actually seen just a plain old bear before, but I hear they're as big and furry as platypus-bears. Shun's already big, so if he just grew a beard, he would be furry too. I wonder how many times people would run screaming from him, thinking he was actually a bear," she babbled. An image of bear Shun came into Tiki's mind, and she giggled heartily at the thought.

ZanYi had paid no heed to Shun as he had fled from the room. Setting up her cot, she did note though, "I'm fairly certain they would mistake him for Big Foot."

Syaoran couldn't chuckle because he was looking at the young woman in shock. It was the first time she'd even attempted to acknowledge Shun in days, let alone crack a joke. Or at least, it could be a joke. It could also have been an insult. These days, the two were starting to blur together.

"The only difference between a bear and a platypus-bear is the mouth. They just have a snout and sharp teeth like polar bear-dogs instead of the bill," Syaoran explained. Frightening was the only word to describe the first time when one had stumbled upon his family's farm as a child. He could not even tell what it was at that time.

"Well, there are no bears or platypus-bears here, but there is a time for lights out, which is right about now," ZanYi informed them, shoving her bag under her cot and stripping of her military jacket. Her dogtags gleamed in the high light of the room. "So, my suggestion is to rest up, because starting tomorrow, Syaoran will be training with the AKs."

Syaoran's mouth dropped, but he had no time to respond as the lieutenant hit the lights and walked back out into the hallway, leaving him in the dark on his cot. "With the AKs?" he repeated in the darkness, looking to where he guessed Tiki was. He fell back onto the cot and sighed. "She really is trying to kill me."

Tiki giggled, sounding nervous. She did not attempt to deny Syaoran's suspicions, for her own thoughts were revolving around the exact same point ever since the lieutenant had announced Syaoran's training with the AKs. "Just cling to your life long enough for Shun to heal you back up and you'll be fine," she assured him, trying to be helpful, but falling just a little short. ZanYi wasn't really trying to kill him, after all—attempting such a feat was considered high treason, and the lieutenant had already made it perfectly clear that she was as patriotic as patriotic could get. "And look on the bright side—ZanYi being able to train with her AKs again might put her in a better mood than the one she's had lately."

'_Please, __**please**__ let training with the AKs put her in a better mood,_' Tiki prayed as she pulled the sheet over her body and rolled onto her stomach. She was almost afraid for Syaoran: watching the next day's practice was certainly going to be eventful, Tiki was sure of that.

Syaoran was sure of that too. Which is why he took the lieutenant's advice and tried to go to sleep right then. Her one-on-one training was bad enough, and now he was going to be grouped in with a whole regiment of advanced, military-grade firebenders.

As intimidating as that was, Syaoran knew he could not allow that to overcome him. He was just going to pray that he survived. It was with that thought that the Avatar fell asleep, sound on his cot.

However, not everyone was able to fall sleep with such ease. Despite the day of travel, despite weariness, ZanYi was hardly in a condition to sleep. She palmed the wall of the scarcely lit hallway, leaning forward to it. Her breaths came out short and ragged.

All of her life, she had basically spent in the military. But it never got easier to send someone off. The mangled body of her second lieutenant, the wear on her unit's faces, the anger in the voice of Fin's brother as she'd made that call home…

The lieutenant slammed her palm against the wall as she growled, the sound coming out more desperate than angry. Water pricked at her eyes, but ZanYi could not give in to them. She blinked them away as best she could, turning to slid her back down the wall to the floor. Her elbow rested against a propped up knee as she held her face in her hand.

"I'm sorry, Fin…" she rasped in the lonely hall. The lieutenant could faintly see the burns she had sustained in the past week, and felt grateful for their presence. The way she saw it, it was the least she could bear for not having been there for her soldiers.

It took her several minutes to regain her cool, to at the minimum put a cap back on the reeling emotions. Standing to her feet, she held her ragged body away from the wall with an arm, exhausted. ZanYi only hoped that she would be able to fall straight to sleep. She had to be up at the crack of dawn to warm up before the AKs started training.

ZanYi stood tall, controlling herself once again before slipping back into the room she was to share with Team Avatar.

Just around the corner, Shun was hiding himself. He had finished shaving much sooner than he had expected, and was heading back to Team Avatar's room when he caught sight of the lieutenant just a ways down the hall. Luckily, she hadn't noticed him—she seemed quite preoccupied—so Shun managed to conceal himself behind the wall again. If he could help it, he wanted to avoid another one-on-one with ZanYi; he felt quite vulnerable without his canteen.

So it was with great concern that the large waterbender had overheard the lieutenant's heartbroken apology. One of her men had fallen… and Shun felt some degree of responsibility for her loss. He regretted the loss of ZanYi's second-in-command, but like her brother, Shun was glad it was not ZanYi in Fin's stead.

After the lieutenant had vacated the hall, Shun stayed where he was. He decided to give it a few minutes before he returned, to give ZanYi a chance to fall asleep without him disturbing her. Shun hoped fervently that her dreams would be sweeter tonight, now that she managed to get out what she needed to say.

* * *

**A/N from Eva: Wow, Chapter Seven already. I can barely believe it. o.o And we haven't even made a sufficient dent yet! Ahhh! I feel like I rant about this every Author's Note, but you guys don't even KNOW. There's so much of it. So. Much. We have barely just begun.  
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**Mz. Jinky: Thank you for the follow! We update this story every Friday, so we hope you won't be disappointed! :D  
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	8. The Ambush

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire**

**By Twins of the Pen**

******Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

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"Get up, Syaoran. Let's go."

He heard the strict voice, and he did not understand at first. Until Syaoran was rolled out of his cot. Hitting the floor with a thud, Syaoran scrunched his face at the rude awakening. As his eyes squinted open, he found the lieutenant standing over him, hands on her sides.

"Time to get up, Avatar. Training with the AKs starts in ten minutes, and I doubt you want to be late," she said. Her boots thudded on the linoleum floors as she rifled through her duffel bag, to get another t-shirt out.

Syaoran sat up, blinking away the sleep and staring wide at the lieutenant. "What time is it?" he bravely asked, his better judgment still unconscious.

"Almost 0600 hours."

Next to Syaoran, Tiki groaned and pulled her pillow over her head.

"It's too eaaarlyyyy…" she complained, burrowing herself further into her sheets. Normally, Tiki was very much a morning person, always awake and energized with the sun. Yesterday, however, had been a very early morning as well, accompanied with a very long day and a rather late night. So hearing the lieutenant's commanding voice at 6 a.m. was not exactly a welcome wake up call. Tiki sighed, nestling herself into a comfortable enough position to fall back to sleep…

…Only to sit up straight, startled when a loud 'thunk!' resounded through the room.

"_Ow,_" Shun growled, ducking down under the doorframe to enter the room properly, rubbing his forehead. "Stupid low doorframe… morning, everyone," he gave a drowsy greeting to the room at large. Tiki had to stuff a fist in her mouth to keep herself from laughing out loud at the poor guy.

"How is it you woke up before any of us?" she wanted to know, though suspected she knew the answer: Shun's clothes were soaked. She watched as he yanked his sodden shirt up over his head and bent over his satchel to retrieve a new one.

"I was practicing my bending," he explained after he had tugged on a dry shirt, confirming Tiki's suspicions.

"Did you fall into the water thanks to your excellent morning coordination skills?" the little airbender asked, her kitty grin present. Shun leveled an even stare at her, unsmiling.

"It's too early," he warned her darkly. Tiki took the hint and shut her mouth, though her feline smirk was still present.

ZanYi smirked, out of sight of the others. Even Mr. Patient wasn't a morning person. But her amusement left quickly as she pulled on a new sleeveless. The lieutenant may have been up for a bit already, but even with that, the waterbender had already been up and gone.

"Hurry up, Syaoran. Wake up and dress yourself. Last thing we need is the Avatar to show up to training naked and unprepared," she warned him as she tucked her dogtags inside her shirt.

Syaoran rolled up to his feet quickly, moving as fast as he could. Training with fire? Early in the morning? "Why does this sound like a bad idea?" he mumbled, struggling to put on some shoes.

ZanYi ignored him, but did turn to Tiki. "If you want to sleep, you can. There is no need for you to come if you would like to rest longer." Frankly, she did not care. But Zaron had wanted her to pass on the message anyway. And the next part of the message was going to kill her. "And if Shun would like, he may as well. Permission of the Sergeant Major."

Shun had taken down his ponytail and was in the process of wringing out his long hair when ZanYi reiterated her brother's message. He looked over at her, startled. Was Zaron making a point of being hospitable to make up for his sister's behavior towards Shun? He couldn't really say for sure, but had to admit that he did appreciate it.

"That's okay," he answered as he tied his hair back up, "I'm already awake. I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep even if I tried."

"I wanna go too," Tiki piped up at once, already changed and ready to go. "It'll be cool to see you in your natural element, ZanYi… pun intended."

'_And,_' a more serious side of Tiki's mind muttered, '_I haven't found Lili yet… I hope she's okay._'

To distract herself from such depressing thoughts, Tiki bounced over to Shun, who had just finished replacing his feathers in his ponytail.

"Your hair's so long," she commented, "how come? I thought waterbenders were in the habit of cutting it shorter nowadays."

Shun shrugged. "I keep my hair long because it's tradition. My dad's adamant about it, and I guess he kind of instilled it in me. Besides, I already have to shave three times a week; I don't really want to add haircuts to my tedious list of grooming habits."

"So you're just lazy," Tiki surmised with a giggle, only to have her cheeks pinched and stretched wider than they were meant to go.

"Did that comment come out of this mouth?" the large waterbender asked with a smile; there was a vein slightly pulsating in his forehead. Tiki remembered too late that Shun wasn't exactly at his most patient in the morning.

"Schorry, schorry!" she apologized hastily, sounding distorted through her taut mouth. After a moment, Shun consented to let her go, and Tiki rubbed her sore cheeks with a pout. "Geez, remind me not to ever make you mad, Shun."

"That would be dangerous," the large waterbender agreed gravely.

Syaoran observed Shun's behavior and made that same mental note. While it was a bit disconcerting that two of his three teammates appeared to be volatile when angry, he also supposed it made him feel a bit safer in enemy territory.

"Hey, you coming or not, Avatar?"

He looked up, broken from his thoughts as ZanYi looked back at him from the doorway expectantly. Abruptly, the earthbender rose to his feet and nodded, following after her as she led them out of the building. It wasn't a far walk until he saw a herd of firebenders up ahead in a huddle talking. They were in a vacant, dirt area a ways from camp, surrounded by other buildings, high and desolate. Syaoran guessed there might have been something there in the lot once upon a time, but whatever it was had been long gone.

"Attention!" the lieutenant bellowed, and the chatter ceased, the company forming a square grid of people. It was instantaneous, no hesitation at all. ZanYi looked to Syaoran. "You can take a place in the back to start today," she informed him. Syaoran nodded uncertainly, but then he moved to stand in the back row. He tried to stand as astute as possible as his eyes watched the lieutenant move to stand before everyone.

"Beginning stances!"

The firebenders stepped back to a horse stance, fists pulled back to their hips. Syaoran moved back, mimicking it. It seemed basic and familiar at this point, but he was thankful he even knew it. He watched as ZanYi turned her back to the group to do the same.

"Warm-up forms. Begin!" And then she started to lead them through a series of breathing forms and firebending stances. Then they started getting faster. And then actual fire started being emitted. Syaoran struggled to keep up, but he was at least holding his own on these basics. What surprised him was how focused and obedient all the soldiers were. Whereas he almost feared the lieutenant, there was something else in the eyes of everyone else around him.

Respect.

Shun and Tiki watched from the sidelines, both equally impressed as they viewed the AK's warm-up exercises. "Wow. Synchronization," Tiki noted. Shun smirked a little.

"Of course. With a leader like ZanYi, do you think there would be any disorder among her ranks?" he reasoned. Tiki turned to look at Shun's profile as he watched the practice.

"You seem to understand ZanYi better than any of us," she observed. Shun's smirk faded at her words.

"Not really. Anyone could guess that she's a woman of order by talking to her. She's also a woman of high esteem: firebenders are a proud people, and they don't take orders from just anyone. ZanYi must have worked very hard to get where she is now."

"Or she was just given the position," Tiki suggested mildly. "She's from the Fire Nation's royal line, you know."

Shun did know. But he shook his head. "Don't let her ever hear you say that," he warned the little airbender. "I don't think she'd appreciate it."

_"Why not?" _Tiki wanted to ask, failing to see the problem. But, as she already said, Shun seemed to understand ZanYi better than he let on, so if he said she shouldn't insinuate that the lieutenant was merely given her position, Tiki wouldn't. Instead, Tiki focused her attention on Syaoran as he practiced with the Agni-Kais.

"He's gotten pretty good, huh?" she complimented, smiling as she watched the Avatar. Shun smiled, but lifted a shoulder.

"We'll see. This is only a warm-up, after all."

Breaking through the air, ZanYi called out, "And back to stance!"

The troop moved back to their beginning stance, and while some didn't even seem to break a sweat, Syaoran was struggling to just to breath. He glanced around him, seeing not a single one as out of breath as he was. Suddenly everything the lieutenant had told him about practicing his breathing was starting to make a bit more sense.

"Attention!"

He straightened up quickly, Syaoran's chest heaving. ZanYi turned back to face her troops, a small gleam of sweat on her brow, but not a breath out of place. He felt a little inferior, but then Zaron's words floated to his mind. He took that in stride as he tried to slow his heart rate with deep breaths.

ZanYi surveyed her troops. They were expectant, they were waiting, and they all looked to her. Something about the normality of it all eased some of the kinks in her shoulders and she smirked. "Good job—for a warm-up," she half-encouraged. A couple of smirks mirrored back to her. "Everyone, we will begin controlled sparring now."

And as every soldier knew exactly where to go, Syaoran froze in place. Was this going to be exactly like training at the waterfall all over again? If so, he certainly was going to fear for his life. However, ZanYi approached him, a young man at her side. "Syaoran," she beckoned, "this is Lee. He will be sparring with you for the time being."

His jaw slackened and almost dropped. He wasn't even going to be paired up with the lieutenant, who he knew was holding back on him? Syaoran gulped at the thought. ZanYi smirked.

"Lee is a new recruit," she said by way of assurance. "And remember, gentlemen, this is sparring, and therefore controlled. Practice your hand to hand and remember that the goal is to get as close to the other person without actually burning them."

Meaning they were not actually going to be burning each other. Syaoran held back the sigh of relief at that. That almost made it seem a bit more possible. When the lieutenant walked away, he looked to Lee with a bit of intrigue. "Does new recruit mean you're not as ferocious?"

The young man smirked. "No. Just not as experienced."

Figures.

ZanYi, on the other hand, moved to spar with one of the more advanced soldiers. And considering the past couple weeks, a good sparring session is exactly what she needed. "Let's do this."

"Oh snap," Tiki gasped, leaning forward in excitement from her place on the outer rim of the lot. "Things just got a lot more interesting!"

Shun was glad he came. Seeing that the Avatar was going to be sparring against one of the Agni-Kais set him on edge. As he shifted his weight, the canteen at his side sloshed reassuringly. Shun was confident that Syaoran could hold his own in a fight, but it did not mean he would not sustain a few injuries along the way. He just had to hope that the Avatar's sparring partner had as much control as ZanYi did.

Syaoran was hoping that too, but when a flaming foot came dangerously close to his face, it took every ounce of his being not to earthbend the guy sky-high. He took a quick step to the right to avoid it, then gave a few quick punches himself. Lee was able to dodge every movement, dipping low to execute a quick swipe to the Avatar's feet.

Jumping up, Syaoran came back down to drop a fiery kick on him, narrowly missing Lee's arm. "Sorry!" he exhaled, worried that he might have burnt the young man. The lieutenant asking him to burn her was one thing; he was not about to set off an AK.

However, Lee just smiled. "No, that's good. That's what these exercises are about: getting close, using control, and getting into the fighting rhythm."

He blinked, though it was long enough for Lee to aim a punch at him. Syaoran dodged it and did the same, and soon he understood what Lee was talking about. And then it continued, a quick dodge and weave, down and up. And Syaoran started slipping into the rhythm of the heat, like dancing flames.

"Go! Go! Syaoran! Go! Go! Syaoran!" Tiki began to cheer, jumping up and down and doing back-flips as if she were at a pro-bending match. "Take that firebender! Show him what you're made of! Give him some of that Avatar expertise!"

Shun was glad that Syaoran seemed to be getting the hang of firebending, but he, admittedly, was not watching him. The waterbender's bright blue eyes were focused on ZanYi as she sparred with a female Agni-Kai that clearly knew what she was doing just as much as the lieutenant did. Their battle was becoming rather fierce, causing Shun to frown. He was almost certain ZanYi was venting, and felt rather bad for her sparring partner.

ZanYi dodged her partner's blazing feet and quickly retaliated as a whirlwind of fire. Sweat dripped down her brow, but it bothered her not. The fire was comforting; the heat, her friend. There was much control in their movements, but the sparring was much faster.

It was full of quick slashes, acrobatics, and fire. She grunted with each strike, carefully controlling every breath. It was rough, and sometimes difficult to keep the control. But the more effort she put into that, the better she felt. The stronger she felt. The more disciplined she felt.

Eventually, that speed caught up to her partner. ZanYi dodged one move, then when she landed on her toes, she pivoted to quickly spin back and fire back at the girl. The female stumbled back and ZanYi took the opportunity to jump and feign a drop kick to her. The girl tried to dodge back again, but ended up falling. Landing on her feet, the lieutenant stood over her partner, hands poised downward at her.

ZanYi's chest heaved a little and sweat dripped down her face. And then she reached down a hand to pull the other female back up. "Good work, Min."

Shun released a breath he had no idea he was holding until now. The match had ended, and ZanYi had emerged victorious. It didn't look like she had gotten scorched in the fight, but still, the angry burns that she had refused to let Shun heal after training with Syaoran remained. Shun gazed at them, frowning. Why did she have to put herself at a disadvantage simply because she was angry with him? If she kept up this bout of stubbornness, she soon would not have any skin left…

"...Shun? Hey, Shun!"

Shun blinked. Tiki had jumped in front of him, momentarily held aloft by her airbending before she sank back to the ground, a pout on her face.

"What is it?" he replied a beat too late, and Tiki huffed, looking put-out with the large waterbender.

"You didn't hear a single word I said, did you?" she accused.

Shun looked sheepish. "Sorry, Teeks. What were you saying?"

Rather than reiterate whatever she may have been babbling about, Tiki looked from ZanYi to Shun and back again, her expression unusually shrewd.

"I don't get it," she admitted after a moment, "The meaner ZanYi is to you, the more you worry about her. Why?"

"Her attitude toward me has nothing to do with how I feel about her," Shun patiently explained. "I still consider her a friend. I'm allowed to worry about friends, aren't I?"

Tiki pursed her lips dubiously, but said nothing more.

ZanYi looked away from her partner to see Shun and Tiki bickering over something. Or, at least Tiki seemed put-out by whatever the conversation was. But that was not of enough merit to keep gazing long. So she looked over nearby to find Lee and Syaoran in a rhythmic spar and a smirk curled her mouth.

"Attention!"

The sparring ceased and all eyes turned to her. Except for Lee. Syaoran had gotten the hint and turned to face her. But the new recruit seemed far too involved to have even heard her. Which is why her golden eyes flared when she saw the blast of fire head at Syaoran completely unawares.

Moving with great speed, ZanYi rushed towards the Avatar. Inserting herself between him and the new AK, she took the brunt of the fire before she could divert and dissipate it. The AKs let out a unanimous gasp as the burns singed her arms, and a couple of them even moved to hold back Lee.

"I—I didn't mean to!" he exclaimed with wide eyes. ZanYi winced at the look of her arms, but stood upright slowly.

"Lee, new or not, paying attention to all of your surroundings is critical," she admonished sternly. "In battle, that's the difference between keeping yourself and your team alive." ZanYi narrowed her gaze at him. "Thankfully, this was just a sparring match, but from now on, you will be under careful watch and not clear for any combat."

Syaoran, however, was immobile, staring at the lieutenant. One: that fire had been dangerously close to hitting him. And to think, he felt like he was just getting the hang of this. But two: the lieutenant had just taken that blow completely. For him. "Uh, Lieutenant?" he said cautiously, staring at her burns. "You might want to get those looked at…"

Syaoran had barely finished his sentence—and Tiki had barely gotten her gasp of shock out—before Shun was already there, making his way through the crowd of AKs that surrounded their injured lieutenant. Once he reached her, the large waterbender took ZanYi's arms gingerly into his grasp, gauging the damage.

They were third degree burns. Already, the lieutenant's skin was beginning to blister. Unable to help himself, Shun threw a frown at the new recruit named Lee. He cowered slightly under the bigger man's fierce gaze, looking as if he were a boy who had just received a thorough scolding from his father. With a sharp shake of his head, Shun uncapped his canteen and pulled the water from it with a beckoning of his hand.

"Ignore me later," he told the lieutenant, frowning as he wrapped the water around her arms. "Just hold still for a few minutes."

It took much longer than usual to heal these burns, seeing as how the damage was a lot more than Shun was used to. But after about twenty minutes, he removed the water encasing ZanYi's arms, leaving them very pink, but otherwise good as new. Impressed murmurings ran through the soldiers as the large waterbender turned their leader's arms this way and that, inspecting his work. A sigh escaped him when he seemed satisfied.

"Thank goodness," he mumbled.

"You're awesome, Shun!" Tiki cheered; she, like everyone else, had come close to watch him work. She now sidled up to ZanYi, an expectant look on her face. "Well, Lieutenant? Don't you have something you want to say to Shun…?"

"Forget it," Shun dismissed, surprising Tiki. He capped his canteen and gave the firebenders an apologetic smile. "Sorry for interrupting practice," he apologized humbly before lumbering off and returning to his original position on the sidelines. After a stunned moment, Tiki followed, but not before giving ZanYi an exasperated look. Shun was so nice to her! She just didn't get it.

The lieutenant herself stared after him as he walked away, completely confused. She had remained quiet and unmoving as he worked. The burns were bad this time, she knew. But she also knew that Shun was one of the best healers she had ever met, and even ZanYi could not put up with such burns when she could be in combat any day.

With pursed lips, her gaze lingered on the waterbender once more before she turned to her troops. "Everyone, practice is done for now. The Division One AKs will reconvene later to make up the practice on lightning generation and redirection. You are dismissed!"

And despite that order, very few strayed away. In fact, most gathered around the lieutenant, peering at her arms. Lee bowed several times in repentance, to which he received further scolding before they were all dismissed again.

Once the Agni-Kais began to disperse, she turned to Syaoran at last, an analytical look on her face. "Did you get hurt, Syaoran?" she was finally able to ask. Considering Shun had not rushed to him, she figured as much but wanted to be sure.

Syaoran nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks," he told her, bowing a bit himself to her. He looked at the scorch marks that seared the ground around them with a serious look on his face and a gulp in his throat. That could have been him. The lieutenant had scolded her AK for not paying attention, but Syaoran was just as much at fault for her burns, in his mind. "I'll pay better attention next time."

She nodded, but gave him a light pat on the shoulder. "You did well today. Tomorrow's a new day."

But then she had to look to the sidelines at the remaining Team Avatar. It was almost painful to look Shun in the face, but it was not as painful as the burns had the potential to feel. And Shun might have done her a large favor by that.

ZanYi walked closer to him, somber in the face. And when she approached him, she was silent for a moment. But then she held a hand to him. "Thank-you."

Shun stared the lieutenant, stunned and silent. Tiki stared too, but for an entirely different reason.

"A _handshake_?" she questioned, sounding underwhelmed. "Really, ZanYi? Days and days of the cold shoulder, and then when you decide to make up, you offer him a _handshake_? I think you can do better than that! Give him a hug!"

And, without warning, the little airbender threw a strong gust of wind at the lieutenant's back, forcibly buckling her knees and causing her to fall into Shun.

"Tiki!" Shun said sharply; he had to hastily gain a firmer footing when ZanYi was unexpectedly blown into him. Tiki, anticipating Shun's reaction, had skipped out of harm's way with her kitty grin in place. Shaking his head good-naturedly, the large waterbender took a big step back, helping ZanYi regain her balance before he released her shoulders. He took her hand and gave it a firm shake, smiling as he was reminded of a similar situation that occurred just yesterday, but with a different Tsong.

"You're welcome," Shun answered, his smile stretching into a grin. Suddenly elated, Tiki bounced away to meet the approaching Avatar.

"Mommy and Daddy aren't getting a divorce after all!" Tiki squealed happily. A thought seemed to occur to her, and she took Syaoran's face in her hands. "By the way, are you okay?" she wanted to check, turning his head this way and that but not finding any burns. "That was really scary; that guy almost burned your face off!"

Syaoran was doing his best to swat away at Tiki. He peeled her off of his face, lifting her up under her arms. "Get off me," he demanded, putting her back down on the ground. In a way, he supposed it was futile to even do it, since she would be back up if she wanted, but nonetheless, Syaoran felt the need to get her off of him.

"But yeah, I'm good," he answered anyway with a deep sigh of relief. "I've just got to be more careful tomorrow. Just because the new guys are easier, doesn't mean they have the lieutenant's control apparently."

Once upright, ZanYi whirled to shoot Tiki a very dirty look. That was not an act that she took kindly to, but as the airbender was not entirely under her dominion, there was nothing the lieutenant could do to reprimand her. Words were wasted breath on that child.

So she ignored the little one, turning back to the big one before her. Shun's smile, while it probably meant to be assuring, ZanYi only found it uncomfortable. Therefore she withdrew her hand and looked away.

There was no denying Shun's helpfulness. Those burns could have been quite a problem and far worse than the ones that covered the rest of her body. Her eyes gazed at the new pink and the red scarring comparatively. Truly, his work was unmatched by simple cooling baths and the other healers from the base.

"I suppose you're also expecting an apology," she suggested, looking away from her skin to meet Shun's grinning face. "That I can't give you. I do not regret my words." The only thing she regretted was not having fought harder to go. Because now she had lost lives, blood now on her hands. She was their leader, their lieutenant. She should've been there.

Amber eyes went dark at the thought.

Shun's grin faded a little. Contrary to what the lieutenant thought, he had not been expecting an apology—he knew better than that. But as ZanYi's expression darkened, he found himself at a loss for words. That pain would never go away for her. Shun knew that, as a leader, ZanYi felt as if she had failed her troops.

"And I don't regret making you stay," he reminded her, knowing fully well that such a statement might set the lieutenant off again. But he was just being honest. "I'll tell you what, though: I'll reprimand Tiki for that stunt she just pulled for you. Hopefully that'll make us even."

Without waiting for a reply, Shun uncapped his canteen and proceeded to bend water from it until he had enough for a sufficient water whip. Guiding the water whip to where Tiki was chatting at Syaoran, Shun made a swift movement that caused the water to snap across Tiki's backside with a sharp crack.

"EYAH!" Tiki screeched, leaping onto Syaoran in surprise. When she registered that Shun was pulling the water back, her gray eyes narrowed. "Why did you just do that?!" she ranted, still clinging to Syaoran.

Shun gave her a look as he capped his canteen once more. "You know perfectly well why I did it," he replied, hiding his amusement at the sheepish look Tiki now wore. "What you did could have been dangerous, so don't do it again, all right?"

"Okay, okay," Tiki grumbled, pouting and still clinging to the Avatar. "You guys are no fun at all," she added sullenly.

Shun merely chuckled at the little airbender's disgruntled expression.

And the motion did something a bit different than make them even. A quiet snort escaped her tightened lips, the corner of her lip curled up at Tiki's fright. It served her right, by ZanYi's account, and she was thankful someone could control the little ball of energy.

Taking a deep breath, ZanYi looked up at Shun's face, analyzing him once more. The gears were working in her mind, balancing the pros and cons from her mind and emotions. And surprisingly, she relented.

"How about you help me out with these other scars this evening and then we'll call it even?" she supposed, using every ounce of her self-restraint to do as much. He was not forgiven for his actions. The Agni-Kais were still most important to her. But for as long as she was to aid the Avatar, they were going to have to work together. And the tension was probably not good for Syaoran—or at least, it wasn't according to Zaron.

Shun grinned.

"Deal," he replied, elated. There was still a certain stiffness in the way she looked at him, but still, he was happy that the lieutenant was even talking to him again. He inspected the scars left on ZanYi's flesh with a critical eye. "It might take most of the evening, but I think I can get rid of most of them…" he speculated, talking to himself. It was a shame to let such beautiful skin remain scarred, and Shun was determined to salvage it.

ZanYi looked at Shun again and nodded at his agreement. While she was watching where his eyes went, she was not surprised they only looked at the scars. She'd been quite adamant about him not treating them before; it certainly was going to take more work now to get them healed up.

"Just do what you got to do," she assured him. In a way, he was still doing her a favor, despite her irritation with him. Zaron would admonish her if she was not considerate, and the last thing she needed was to be treated like a child by Big Brother. "You can take a better look at all of them this evening after dinner."

If he thought he had his work cut out for him, Shun must have forgotten that most of the training back at the falls she had not generally worn a covering shirt like she was at the moment. After all, if she was going to demand the Avatar to fire at her, the least she could do was not have to stop-drop-and-roll her clothes during it.

Syaoran, however, was rolling his eyes at the sudden leech he found attached to him. "Tiki!" he said again with exasperation. This time, when he plucked her off of him, the Avatar stepped back and raised his hands, putting a small barrier between them of earth.

"I'm not a playground," he told her, trying to put space between them. Just because he was used to not having much space, doesn't mean he did not want any personal space. That he actually appreciated. And it seemed impossible to get. "Watch out or Shun will whip you again," Syaoran warned her.

He had nodded his head to gesture towards the large waterbender, but found his eyes drawn to the lieutenant's pink arms. He knew how efficient the man was with his healing. So for it to look like that still meant the burns had been pretty severe.

Syaoran looked to his teacher as she actually seemed to converse with Shun. There was no doubt that the woman was fierce, and a bit frightening. But she had done an unprecedented move by taking that blow for him and bearing the consequences for him. And the rest of the AKs seemed to flock to her as a leader, just as he had when given the decision to go to Omashu or not.

Maybe there were more good qualities to her than they had previously given her credit for.

Tiki pouted as Syaoran griped at her for a second time.

"I'm not afraid of Shun," she claimed boldly; nonetheless, she lowered her voice when she said it. "And what do you mean, 'playground'? I don't treat anyone like a playground—I'm nineteen! I'm too old for playgrounds! Shun scared me and I jumped on you because you're a guy and you're supposed to provide strength and comfort—!"

Tiki halted her rant when she realized Syaoran was no longer paying attention to her. He was gazing at ZanYi instead. Tiki glanced over her shoulder, seeing that the lieutenant was still speaking to Shun. That was a good sign, and Tiki thought she could understand why Syaoran was watching them—no one wanted another fight to break out—but the fact that he was blatantly ignoring her as she was speaking got under her skin more than usual.

"Hello? Paging the Avatar? I'm talking to you, Syaoran!" Tiki reminded him, poking his side with a frown. Syaoran was usually more polite than this, even with her. Just what was so fascinating about ZanYi at the moment?

Syaoran snapped his gaze back to Tiki, finding her indignant. "Sorry, Tiki," he apologized before excusing himself to walk over to the lieutenant and Shun. His eyes moved from her scars to her face. "I'm sorry, Lieutenant. I should have been paying more attention too, not just Lee."

ZanYi turned to the Avatar, brushing off the apology. "You didn't shoot fire at me, and you are not an AK. I do not hold you to that standard," she informed him, grazing her eyes over his face. She could see the concern and she sighed a bit in irritation. "I'm fine. Shun is going to patch me up, and we'll be ready to begin again tomorrow morning."

"Is there any way I can help?" he asked her, persistent. ZanYi rolled her eyes.

"I don't believe you're a healer, so no, I don't think so," she quipped but then she looked at the Avatar solidly. "Syaoran, don't worry about it. Take this as another lesson: playing with fire can be dangerous without self-control."

"Yes it can," Shun agreed, frowning as he thought again of Lee. Accident or not, the large waterbender was fervently hoping that the new recruit would devote himself to mastering control, after such a shameful incident as searing his commanding officer.

A loud rumbling reminiscent to Ai's roar when Shun started her up sounded, startling him. A second later, however, Shun realized with embarrassment that it was just his stomach.

"I'd better go feed the beast," he joked, laughing at himself. He took a few steps back to base before glancing behind him. "Anyone else care to join me?" he called, his voice extending the invitation to Tiki as well.

Tiki stopped her pouting over Syaoran blowing her off to consider the offer. She couldn't deny that she was hungry, of course, but usually she did her morning meditation before her meal. Getting caught up in this 'Team Avatar' thing was messing with her schedule big time. And there was still no sign of Lili…

Almost as if the lemur knew her master was missing her, Lili dropped down from the sky, landing right in Tiki's arms. She let out a joyful cry and licked Tiki's surprised face.

"Lili!" Tiki rejoiced, hugging the lemur tightly and running after Shun. "Look, look! Lili came back!"

"So I see," Shun said, smiling down at the jubilant look on Tiki's face. "Welcome back, Lili."

Lili gave a purring sound as Shun gently stroked her head. But both he and Tiki were oblivious to the glowing piece of technology attached to the lemur's tail…

* * *

Syaoran flopped down onto his cot, exhausted. The day had passed like a blur and if things kept up like this, training in Omashu was going to be worse than at the base. He'd continued his private sessions with the lieutenant interspersed throughout the day—when she was not in tactical meetings or training the AKs. But the major difference, he noted, were the early mornings he was going to be sharing with the Agni Kais. The Avatar hoped the rest of the training sessions with them would not be as eventful as this first morning.

His thoughts lingered at the burn marks his teacher now bore because of his inattentiveness. While he knew he was the Avatar and that she was his Firebending Master, it still seemed a bit surreal to be protected in such a way. There was some guilt at the thought.

It was at that moment said woman entered the room, wringing her wet hair with a towel. ZanYi, after an even more intense sparring session with her brother, had come back to shower. She now donned her tank-top and some lighter cargos than she normally wore at training. "Something on your mind, Avatar?" she queried, looking to the young man deep in thought.

Syaoran sat up and it was quite quickly that his gaze went to her scars. Rolling her eyes, ZanYi sat on the edge of her cot, rubbing down her raven hair with her towel before it dripped on her shoulders. "Relax, Syaoran. Shun is taking care of it."

"Taking care of what?"

Shun rounded the corner, looking curious as to why his name was being used in a conversation he was not privy to. He had just returned from dinner, having chosen to shower before the meal. Tiki, whom had waited for him, entered the room behind him with Lili in her arms. Just like Syaoran, the large waterbender's eyes were immediately drawn to the scars ZanYi displayed. He nodded, now understanding.

"There's a lot more scarring than I thought," he noted as he moved over to his cot. "Good thing I refilled my canteen." He gave the container a hearty shake, reassured by the full sloshing inside. Shun then moved to sit next to ZanYi, uncapping his canteen as he eyed her scars once more.

"Let's start with your back," he suggested as he weaved the water from his canteen to cover whatever was bare of the lieutenant's back and the top of her shoulders. He then fell silent, concentrated firmly on his task.

Tiki was over on her cot, offering various snack foods to Lili, all of which the lemur turned down.

"Come on, Lili," Tiki urged with a concerned frown, "eat something. You wouldn't eat at breakfast, lunch, or dinner—you've gotta be starving."

The lemur curled up and closed its eyes, ignoring the cheese Tiki held out to it. The little airbender huffed and picked the lemur up, staring into her large green eyes.

"What's the matter with you? You've been acting funny ever since you got back. Did you eat something bad?" Tiki asked of the lemur. Lili merely looked back at her master, uncomprehending. Tiki set the lemur back down onto her lap and sighed. It would be really handy if there were a veterinarian around…

"Shun, would you mind taking a look at Lili when you're done with the lieutenant? I think she's injured somewhere and that's why she won't eat," Tiki called across the room to Shun, turning her lemur over to inspect every inch of her. Shun was frowning in concentration; he could only give Tiki a nod as he worked.

ZanYi moved her hair away from her shoulder blades, allowing Shun's water to travel over it. It felt cool on her back and all over her burns, which was good, since she was still having trouble taking hot showers with all of the scars being sensitive.

"See, Syaoran?" she said pointedly, looking to the Avatar as she said it. "So stop giving yourself grief over it."

Syaoran nodded slowly to appease her, but not because he agreed with her. As far as he was concerned, the events this morning were equally his fault as Lee's, and all of the old scarring was all on him. "I just wish I could help…" he grumbled, watching as Shun's hands moved the water over the scarring.

Instead, he looked over to Lili and Tiki as the airbender inspected her lemur. And as much as she was inspecting, Tiki still seemed to be oblivious to something. "Hey, Tiki, what's that on it's tail?" he queried, noticing something glimmer in the harsh light of the room.

ZanYi, who had closed her eyes to try and relax as Shun worked on healing her scars, snapped her gaze to the lemur. And she noticed the same thing as Syaoran. And normally she did not concern herself with the small animal. But her gut felt sick quite suddenly.

"Tiki," she said with a deathly calm and forced neutrality. All of her muscles tightened, now impervious to the cool of Shun's water. "Bring Lili over here. Let me look at it."

Tiki looked up, startled by the sudden interest in her lemur.

"Okay…" she agreed uncertainly, crossing the room with Lili in her arms. The lemur began to squirm, but Tiki tightened her grip with one arm and used her free hand to grab Lili's tail to hold it still. And now she saw it: small and black, nearly undetectable, save for a glowing red dot in the center. As Tiki stared at it, wondering what it could be, the light abruptly went out, as if the power fueling it had died.

Shun, his task quite forgotten, reached over and plucked the device from Lili's tail, staring down at it as if he could not believe his eyes.

"That's a tracking device."

At his words, there was an enormous 'BOOM!', and the ceiling shook, emitting dust and a few pebbles, but nothing more. Shun had grabbed ZanYi and Tiki and was covering them with his arms, but now that he saw the ceiling was not about to cave in, he let them go and stood up. Screams and yells were being emitted, both distant and far away, which meant only one thing:

The base was being ambushed.

ZanYi was on her feet in seconds. "Syaoran, get down! Tiki, go over by Syaoran! Shun, watch them!" she immediately began to bark orders. She rushed past them to the doorframe, and whipped open the door. When the lieutenant entered the hall, she cursed under her breath.

The place was crawling with smoke and Neo-Equalists.

Syaoran glanced up in worry as she jumped back into the room. "What's going on?" he asked her, his voice urgent as he jumped to his feet. ZanYi ripped open her duffel bag, pulling out a spare communication unit and put it in her ear.

"NEs. It's an ambush," she tersely told him. His blood ran cold. This is exactly what they were all afraid of happening. He didn't even know what to do.

But ZanYi did. "This is Lieutenant Tsong," she spoke quickly into her ear-wick, glancing furtively out into the hall again. "Omashu base is under attack. Send reinforcements. Alert the Sergeant Major." She only hoped it wasn't too late for her brother. And while every fiber of her being cried out to go and fight, to be with her brother and her troop, one look at Syaoran and she had to grit her teeth.

"We're going to get you out of here, Avatar," she said, in full combat mode. Looking to everyone in the room, she gazed at them with the utmost severity as the building rocked again. "Listen up! We're going to move you all to a secure area. I will clear the way and lead. I need you all to stick close to me, is that clear?"

Syaoran nodded and she waited for no other answer. Pausing not even to put on shoes, the woman opened the door to the hall and leaped out there. She grunted loudly as she forced out a huge wall of fire and pushed it down the hall, sending the invaders scrambling for cover or screaming in pain.

"Let's go!" ZanYi urged, turning to run and lead them the other way.

Syaoran didn't need any encouragement. "C'mon, Tiki!" he said, grabbing hold of her wrist as he moved to keep to the lieutenant's heels.

Tiki found herself dragged along, severely confused. Everything had happened so fast—one moment, her biggest worry was Lili not eating; the next minute, they were under attack. It reminded Tiki unpleasantly of the night her parents were taken. Biting her lip and fighting back tears, Tiki gripped Syaoran's hand and willed her short legs to keep up with him. They could not afford to fall behind. They could not.

There was a loud blast behind them, and Tiki cried out, ducking debris that came flying at her.

"They're getting away! After them!" A voice ordered through the smoke, and Tiki gasped. Where were they all coming from?!

Shun, who had been right behind them, bringing up the rear, abruptly stopped. Tiki squinted through the smoke over her shoulder, looking terrified as Shun's giant frame turned to face the Neo-Equalists. "Shun!" she cried, digging her heels into the ground and pulling against Syaoran to try and help Shun. But the Avatar had a very firm grip on her, and all Tiki did was stumble forward.

"Keep going!" Shun called over his shoulder at Tiki, his face set as he faced the oncoming Neo-Equalists. At once, they rushed in to attack him, but Shun's water whip was at the ready, knocking out two Neo-Equalists as it hit them across the face and then tripping up a third. While they struggled to get their bearings, still more came. Gritting his teeth, Shun summoned the rest of the water from his canteen and stretched it out in front of him like a barrier. With sweat on his brow—he hadn't done this in quite some time—the waterbender froze the water solid, so that as the reinforcement Neo-Equalists arrived, they hit the wall of ice with a sickening thud. Cringing a little, Shun took off after the rest of Team Avatar, knowing that he was now out of water and that the wall would not hold for very long.

ZanYi was thankful for Shun's actions, meaning she did not have to stop as she rushed them along down the halls. When a Neo-Equalist here or there would stumble upon them, she made quick work of them, blasting fire in punches and kicks. Eventually they hit a stairwell. "Shun!" she called to the waterbender, finding several Neo-Equalists gathering in pursuit behind them. "Get them down the stairwell!"

She looked to Syaoran urgently. "There's tunnels beneath the floor at the bottom. Get yourselves down there with your earthbending and close it up tight."

He had no opportunity to question what would happen to her before the lieutenant rushed back to face the onslaught of invaders. Unable to disagree, he rushed down flights of stairs to get to the basement, holding tight to Tiki's hand. Once they reached the bottom, he tensed his muscles and made a motion to shove, pushing away the slab of concrete to find a series of tunnels below, just as the lieutenant had said.

"Let's go!" he cried out to the others, his eyes wandering to the spurts of fire that were erupting at the top of the stairs.

ZanYi kept the enemy at bay, a whirlwind of fire and aggression. If any managed to break through, she was able to punch a ball of fire their way and end that. However, she could not completely fight them all off, and she felt the quick jabs in her side. Her left arm fell limp, useless. She whirled a kick of flames to the offending chi-blocker.

Taking the opportunity, she looked down the stairwell. "GO!" she ordered again.

Shun had also paused to watch the fight. His eyes widened when ZanYi's arm went limp, watched as the Neo-Equalists kept coming, trying to fight their way through to get to the Avatar…

Tiki was already in the tunnel, still holding tight to her lemur, and she saw the expression on Shun's face as he turned to look at them. "Shun—!" she began desperately, but had to swiftly move out of the way when Shun shoved Syaoran into the tunnel after her.

"Sorry, Syaoran," he hastily apologized, disappearing for a moment and then returning with a heavy oil drum. "Tiki, take him and run!"

And the large waterbender dropped the oil drum in place over the hole, blocking it for the time being. Tiki was hyperventilating. Usually, she was all for excitement, anything that seemed remotely entertaining was a thrill. But this… this was a kind of excitement she could do without.

"Syaoran, let's go!" she cried, tugging Syaoran's arm and sounding close to tears. She hoped with all her might that Shun and ZanYi would make it out alive. If they didn't… it was just her and Syaoran now…

Tears actually splashed down the little airbender's face, but she had no time to wipe them away. "Please, let's just go!"

Syaoran wanted to turn back, and fight. Wasn't that what he was supposed to do? He was the Avatar. He was supposed to protect others, right? So when Tiki tried and tried to pull at him, Syaoran realized he couldn't move, his mind torn between fight and flight.

Back in the ambushed base, Shun turned to find that, though she was disabled, ZanYi was still putting up a pretty good fight. But she was losing footing because even more Neo-Equalists had arrived, all raring to get at her. Shun cursed himself for using up all his water earlier, and then turned to grab another full oil drum. With an almighty grunt, the large waterbender tossed the drum at the stairs where the Neo-Equalists were advancing. It made contact with a few Neo-Equalist heads and burst open, oil spilling everywhere.

And then the stairway burst into flames, the attacks from the lieutenant igniting the spilled oil and forcing the Neo-Equalists covered in oil back. Shun cringed. He hadn't meant to do that—he just wanted to give ZanYi some room to escape. She had plenty of it now, however.

"ZanYi, come on!" Shun called out to her, gesturing emphatically. "We've gotta get out of here!"

ZanYi knew when to fight and when to take flight. So when the invaders were pushed back, she took that opportunity and ran with it. Not even bothering with the stairs, she leapt from the top of the stairwell to the bottom below with Shun. Shoving the oil drum out of the way, the lieutenant used all of her remaining strength to ram into Shun, tossing them both down into the tunnels.

She could hear the cries from above and the shouting as some men managed to chase down the stairs. But soon they were out of sight and they were in complete darkness as Syaoran closed up the hole with a rough wave of his arms.

And then everything grew quiet.

* * *

**A/N from DJ: PHEW! Sorry so late on Friday! I was delayed in my editing xP But here is the latest chapter and after last week, we are happy with our move to the Korra section! And so, we have some more shout-outs this week!**

**R.A.T.G: Our most faithful reviewer! We love hearing your feedback, we really do. And we're so glad you're into romance, because that will come quite into play later on! As for pairings, I will not confirm or deny what they are, so feel free to ship as you see fit-it just won't change the eventual outcome xD  
**

**Sonosublime: Thanks for the favorite! That means so much to us and we'd love to hear your commentary as we go through this adventure! :D**

**Wiechcheu1925****: Thanks for the alert! I hope you continue to enjoy as the story evolves!**

**And on that note, we'll see you guys next Friday! Tell us what you think!  
**


	9. The Rescue

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire**

**By Twins of the Pen**

******Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

* * *

It was over. ZanYi and Shun managed to escape. Tiki and Syaoran were safe. The Neo-Equalists could no longer reach them. It was over.

So then, why did Tiki's knees give out, and why did she start bawling her eyes out, as if she were the little girl everyone suspected she was? Tiki told herself she was being silly, yelled at herself to stand up and laugh it off, like she always did. But the fear was still too strong, and she cried almost as hard as she did the night her parents were taken.

Syaoran turned at the sound of wailing, knowing exactly whom amongst their party it was. "Tiki?" he spoke out against the darkness. He tried to use the cave walls and his ears to find the source. His father had always told him that as an earthbender he'd have to learn to wait and listen. And it had taken a while to sink in, but this was a perfect time to use the skill.

Slowly moving around the dark tunnel, he finally reached the loudest source of the sniffling and crying. Kneeling down to the ground, Syaoran crept his hand forward, finding Tiki's knee.

"Hey, uh, Tiki," he said, feeling a bit awkward. Crying girls were not a specialty of his, but he did have a younger sister, so he did what worked on her. "Calm down. We got away. It's okay." He put one hand on her shoulder, using the other hand to pat and soothe her hair. "So don't cry." Because he couldn't deal with tears. They were so foreign to him that he would probably end up making it worse rather than better.

The noise stirred Shun, who was lying motionless on the floor of the dark tunnel. There was something soft on top of him, and though Shun could not see, he was pretty sure—judging from the singed smell—that he knew what it was.

"ZanYi," he called her softly in the dark, "are you all right?" The large waterbender carefully removed his arms from around the lieutenant—he did not remember embracing her in the first place, but he must have instinctively done it when they fell to make sure she wasn't injured any further.

The sound was enough to rouse ZanYi as well, and once the arms had left her person, she rolled off of the waterbender, landing flat on her back on the cold earth. "I'm fine," she answered, voice croaking from the dust and dirt. "Sorry for landing on you."

Not that she was afraid of squishing him; Shun was quite large in comparison to her. But ZanYi certainly hadn't intended to use him as a landing strip. She sat up and tried to blink her way through the dark, but to no avail. There was nothing down there at all to work with. She lifted her hand to provide light, only to be infuriated when nothing happened. "Chi-Blockers," the lieutenant grumbled, seeing as her left arm was still incapacitated.

Trying to give them anything to work with, ZanYi switched and tried her right hand, and the familiar warmth of her fire lit up. At least she had one good hand, she figured. The fire dancing in around her fingers wasn't much, but it was enough that she could make out the shadows of the people around her. "Everybody okay?"

"We're fine over here!" Syaoran called out a bit farther away, and from what she could make out, he had Tiki. So ZanYi looked to Shun.

"You okay, Shun?"

"Yeah," Shun answered at once, sitting up. The walls of the tunnel were a lot closer than he would have liked, but at least his head did not brush the ceiling… while he was sitting down, anyway. There was a pulsing at the back of his head, telling him that he had struck his head quite hard when landing in the tunnel. Other than that and a couple scrapes and bruises, he appeared to be fine, just like he told the lieutenant. He managed to aim a wan smile her way. "Close call, huh? Very close…"

A ways in the cavernous dark, Tiki was hiccuping. The little airbender hated it when she became like this, because it took a long time for her to stop crying, no matter what she did. It also left her eyes puffy and swollen for days on end, without the continuous use of ice packs. But the prospect of puffy eyes were the least of her problems right now.

"M-m-my fault," Tiki sputtered between her hiccups, crying into her hands. Her speech became distorted as her hiccups became more frequent. "If—hic—I—hic—hadn't—hic—let—hic—Lili—hic—go—hic—this—hic—wouldn't—hic—have—hic—happened!"

Shun looked around in alarm. Was that really mischievous Tiki sobbing so hard over there that she could barely speak? Concern for the tiny airbender brought him to her other side, patting her the way Syaoran was in an attempt to soothe her.

"Calm down, Teeks," the large waterbender urged, looking down on Tiki with pity. "I could waterbend with all the tears you're shedding. Relax, okay? It wasn't your fault. We're all okay. Please stop crying."

"I—hic—can't—hic—help it!" Tiki wailed, flinging her arms around Syaoran and crying into his shoulder. "I'm sorry—hic—so sorry!"

"Oh boy," Shun sighed, troubled. Tiki was really upset. If Shun had been consoling his own younger sister, he would have tried a myriad of tricks to get her to laugh and forget her tears. But Tiki wasn't Shun's sister, and he was therefore at a loss as much as Syaoran was. With a helpless look to Syaoran, Shun stood up.

"We should probably get going," Shun suggested to ZanYi, who was still a ways away. "I wouldn't put it past the Neo-Equalists to try and blow a hole in the ground to try and get to the tunnels."

"Neither would I," ZanYi agreed, rising to her feet. Holding her hand up steady, she walked over towards them. Her brows rose at the sight of Tiki in such a hysterical manner, and probably out of all of them she had the least idea of what to do with her.

Instead, she walked over to the lemur and, before it could try and fly away, ZanYi gripped it under one arm and wrestled the tracking device off its tail with the other hand. She let the lemur fly free and land on Tiki's shoulder as the lieutenant used her bare foot to give the device a nice little fire stomp.

"Well, that's one issue taken care of," she muttered to herself. Looking again to Tiki's hysterics, she had to think harder. ZanYi said nothing to the girl, considering anything out of her mouth would probably make it worse. Instead, she said to Syaoran, "Help Tiki up so we can get going. We have to keep moving."

Syaoran looked from the frantic girl clinging to him to the lieutenant, a shocked look on his face. However, his teacher firmly nodded in return, and he felt no choice. "Okay, Tiki, see, it's okay now," he began to reassure her again, patting her back. Guessing that the girl was not going to let go any time soon—she barely let go normally—the Avatar resigned to carrying her.

Turning her around, Syaoran put Tiki on his back, and she felt as light as the air she bended. "You can stay right there until you calm down, okay?" he told her, gripping her legs so as to not drop her, "Just don't get used to this." He looked to the lieutenant and nodded. "We're good to go." With that, ZanYi started down the tunnel, lighting their way through the surrounding darkness of stone, cold, and dirt.

Tiki resigned herself to Syaoran's back, still hiccuping in between her sobs. Normally, she would have been ecstatic that the normally grumpy Avatar was giving her a piggy-back ride. But, in the present situation, all Tiki could feel—besides her despair—was childish. She mumbled apologies under her breath, clutching Syaoran's shoulders as the tears steadily fell from her cloudy gray eyes. Lili sniffed at her master, confused by the tears, but Tiki paid her no mind and buried her face in Syaoran's shoulder again.

"It's okay. It's okay," Syaoran kept saying, continuing to mutter sweet utterances of assurance. "Jeez." They had survived. None of them were harmed, aside from the lieutenant's limp arm. "Are you all right, Lieutenant Tsong?" he called out ahead to the fire. He got a dismissive wave in return.

"Never better," she replied back to him.

Shun spared them one last pitying glance before hurrying after ZanYi. He kept closer than usual so he could whisper to her, not wishing to upset Tiki further with their conversation.

"Where will we go?" he wanted to know, glancing down at the lieutenant. "Omashu isn't safe for us anymore… unless you have a plan?"

Shun was almost certain that she did. ZanYi was a woman of careful planning as much as she was a woman of action: it was what made her such a deadly foe and a powerful ally. Even if things had taken a turn for the worse, Shun was still confident that things would be fine, as long as ZanYi was leading them.

ZanYi turned not to Shun as she spoke, but focused on keeping her hand lit and amber eyes on the tunnels ahead. "The military base of operations was just ambushed. There are escape and back-up protocols in place of such an event," she quietly began to answer, aware of her low voice and tone.

"We'll follow these tunnels to the secondary base underground, where we'll rendezvous with the survivors from the camp."

Where she hoped to find her AKs and Zaron. She did not even bother trying to speak into her communication unit again. Even if it worked down there, she did not want them to be intercepted, in case of worst possible scenario and the enemy forces had taken over the communications unit above.

Syaoran eyed her as she spoke in hushed tones to Shun, seeing as how the large man was quite close to her. What could be so confidential that there was no need to speak louder? Or so closely?

Sniffling loudly, Tiki's tears had finally dissolved—or maybe she had just run out of water to produce them, with how hard she cried. She still let out an occasional hiccup, but it appeared as if the worst was over. Sobbing so much had taken a lot out of Tiki; even now, she could feel how heavy her eyelids were getting. The little airbender glanced at Syaoran's profile—his stalwart gaze, his strong and proud jaw, the determined set of his eyebrows. He truly was a pillar of strength, and even though Tiki felt pathetic for leaning on him now, she could not have been more glad that he was there.

"Thank you, Syaoran…" Tiki whispered, the words slipping away from her as her eyelids drifted closed and her head came to rest on Syaoran's shoulder once more. The long day—ended with such a scary, narrow escape—had taken its toll. Within minutes, Tiki was asleep.

Shun nodded, relieved. So prepared, so organized—he would have been better off joining the Resistance right away, considering all the close shaves he had gotten himself into over the years. He never had a back-up plan, and while he did not particularly mind it when he was not in danger, he was always kicking himself later while on the run from Neo-Equalists. He ought to take a page from ZanYi's book.

The large waterbender looked over at the lieutenant, frowning as the scars on her chest caught in the light of her flame and were thrown into sharp relief.

"I didn't even get a chance to finish," Shun sighed unhappily. Gingerly, he took ZanYi's left arm and carefully inspected it. His frown deepened. "And now your arm's been disabled. I shouldn't have wasted all my water on that ice wall; I could've tried to do something about this. My healing technique isn't perfect yet, but it would have been better if I could at least _try._"

Shun recognized the tone of frustration in his voice, and he sighed again. Now was not the time for him to get all riled up over a missed chance of an experiment. He lowered ZanYi's arm back down to her side and folded his arms.

"How much farther until we reach the secondary base?" he wondered.

"We'll reach the secondary base in a bit. It's a bit farther into Omashu, to stray away from where we were originally located," Syaoran heard her say to Shun. At least now he knew where they were going.

Syaoran could feel Tiki as she slipped off into slumber, her body slack on his back. At least she had stopped crying. That was certainly a plus in his book. Even as deadweight, she was still really light, easy to carry. Probably as light as his kid sister.

Stopping that train of thought immediately, he focused more on the two benders ahead of him. Shun definitely seemed to swamp the lieutenant in size, a much bigger difference than him and her. Syaoran couldn't say he was much taller than she, only probably a couple inches. So watching as the man touched her arm again, his eyes widened in the dark.

Shun was probably the only man there that seemed brave enough, or bold enough, to simply to touch Lieutenant Tsong. She didn't seem to be the touchy-feely sort of woman. Then again, Shun was a healer. Therefore he was kind of given that unexpected liberty, though Syaoran did kind of wonder why he even cared to notice such things.

ZanYi looked briefly away from ahead of them, shifting her eyes from her arm to Shun, curious. "Back up a little bit. Were you just saying that you know a technique that could fix my arm? As in, unblock the chi flow?" she inquired, brow furrowed at the thought.

Something like that would be revolutionary, a breakthrough. Without having to wait an hour or more to free up a bender's chi, the soldiers could be back out much faster. It would change the way the Resistance fought their battles, if their healers could do that.

But to her discontent, Shun shook his head with a rueful smile.

"I've been working on a technique to unblock chi flow," he readily admitted, "but as I've said before, it's not complete. I'm still working on it. I haven't really had a lot of opportunities to practice, lately."

Which is why he mentally kicked himself again for not saving just a little bit of water. He could have made a fresh attempt on the lieutenant's arm… if she would have allowed it, that is.

As the silence pressed in around them, as did the soft smell of moist earth, Shun frowned. Why was it so quiet? Glancing over his shoulder, the large waterbender noticed that Tiki had fallen asleep on the Avatar's back, her tear-stained face peaceful in slumber. Shun let out a chuckle.

"She tired herself out with all that crying, huh?" he noted, gazing fondly at the tiny airbender. "Poor thing. Let me know if she gets too heavy, Syaoran, and I'll lug her around for a while."

Syaoran nodded to Shun, but declined his offer. Tiki was no problem at all. In fact, he preferred her this way: completely and utterly quiet. However, it was getting difficult to stifle his own yawn. The long day had become longer and even he was starting to feel the effects.

After hearing him yawn, ZanYi turned back briefly to acknowledge him. "After we get to the base, you'll be able to get some rest, Syaoran," the lieutenant informed him, and for that, Syaoran was grateful. Not that she could see it, but he nodded. Turning back to Shun, curiosity in her gaze. "When we get to base, there will be some water. I am more than willing to let you try this technique on my arm if it gets you somewhere with it."

Looking up ahead, she saw what looked like an electrical box and felt grateful. "We're not far from it now," she told the young men. Walking over to the box, she extinguished her fire and the entire tunnel went dark again.

"What's going—?"

But Syaoran was cut off. There was a crackle and a bright flash of light. Static filled the air as lightning struck the box and there was a crack of sound as it hit the metal. Suddenly, and with a brief stutter, the whole tunnel was illuminated as a stream of cavern lights came on. ZanYi exhaled, satisfied. "We're real close now."

Shun blinked a couple times, abruptly dazzled by the lights after spending all that time in semi-darkness. As his eyes adjusted, he was able to look around the tunnels, appearing as if they had been created by badgermoles. He let out a low whistle.

"That's handy," he said, referring to ZanYi's lightning strike. He had been a little surprised by her offer to let him experiment on her disabled arm, but now thought he knew the reason: if he reached a breakthrough in this type of healing, the battle between benders and non-benders would surely turn around… if enough people could learn the technique once he perfected it, anyway. The large waterbender made a mental note to broach the subject again with the lieutenant once they were settled at the secondary base.

"Mmm…"

Shun turned, eyeing Tiki, whose face had scrunched up because of the bright lights. He was expecting her to wake up and—hopefully—not start crying again, but the tiny airbender just sighed and muttered something about not wanting any more papaya. Shun smiled and shook his head good-naturedly.

"Shall we continue?" he suggested.

ZanYi tilted her head to designate an affirmative, now able to walk forward without having to keep her arm held up for light. The military had only strung lights near the base, so it would not be long at all before reaching the rendezvous point.

Syaoran shifted Tiki on his back to keep a good grip on her. "When do I get to learn that?" he asked the lieutenant, marveling at the ease in which she had conjured up the lightning.

However, it was to his dismay that she shook her head. "Not for a long while, Avatar," she rejected him as they went through the cavernous tunnel. "It's always been said that lightning is the 'cold-blooded fire'. If you think firebending is dangerous, it's nothing compared to lightning techniques."

Syaoran gulped at the thought, knowing already how risky firebending seemed to be. If lightning was worse, there was no doubt that it was going to be a while, if ever, before he touched that.

However, it was not long that he was able to reflect on that because the sound of voices filled the space around them. ZanYi seemed to quicken her pace as the tunnel opened up ahead. Soon, they entered a large cavern. The lights were big, and soldiers littered the room. The uproar grew louder at the sight of them.

"It's the Avatar!"

"They survived!"

There were claps and cheers, and Syaoran felt anxious and awkward. It's not like he had done anything; it was the lieutenant and Shun that had done the hard work. He could only manage an uncomfortable wave in response to the soldiers around them.

Everywhere there were injuries, though some not as bad as others. But ZanYi only had one person she was looking for. The problem was she couldn't find him. "Where's Sergeant Major Tsong?" she asked a nearby AK. The man puckered in the face.

"No word yet from him. Stayed behind to fight off the ambush so the bulk of us could escape."

That was not news she wanted to hear, and Syaoran could tell by the set of her shoulders.

Shun was on edge as well, but it was mostly because he feared ZanYi's reaction. Determined to learn from his past mistakes, the waterbender smartly stepped away from the lieutenant, searching the secondary base for a familiar face. And he found one.

"Sikka!"

The woman turned at the sound of her name from across the cavern, and her eyes widened considerably as Shun strode up to her. They had become acquainted once before, when she was with Ransik one morning at the Omashu base, and she had stared at him much in the same fashion. He gave her a smile to ease her tension around him.

"It's good to see you weren't hurt. Sorry for bothering you, but could you take us somewhere the Avatar can lay down?" Shun gestured behind him at Syaoran and the slumbering Tiki. "It's been a stressful night, as you know."

"Yes, of course," Sikka responded, looking worn-out, "but unfortunately we're short-handed on healers, so I can't go anywhere just now. Can it wait?"

"Short-handed?" Shun repeated, frowning in concern. They couldn't have that. "Can I help?"

"Oh, that would be wonderful," Sikka agreed. Her tired face lightened with the grateful smile she gave the large waterbender. "A lot of our healers were blocked during the escape, and there are a lot of other benders who need immediate attention—"

"I'm on it," Shun assured her, waving off Sikka's thanks. He made his way over to where the other healers were working, drawing water from several barrels they had set up around the area. Shun joined them, and injured benders flocked immediately to him—Shun's reputation of an accomplished healer had been spread far and wide by the AKs. And despite the fact that his body was sore and stiff from lack of rest, Shun felt energized: helping out and being productive allowed him to take his mind off things.

Like what ZanYi was about to do, now that she knew her brother was not yet accounted for.

ZanYi took a deep breath first and foremost. She'd watch Shun walk away to go help Sikka and was left with Syaoran and the unconscious Tiki. "Okay, let's get you guys somewhere to rest," she said in a firm voice, not betraying herself to the anxiety bubbling beneath. She wormed through the masses, finding a slightly more secluded corner with a couple open cots. "Here you guys go."

Syaoran took a minute to walk over there. Edging onto the nearest cot, he slowly unwrapped Tiki's arms from around him, laying her gently on the cot. Sound asleep still, Tiki was. Taking the blanket at the bottom of the bed, he slowly eased it over the little airbender as she slept. "Why can't she always be this quiet and peaceful?" he grumbled aloud, turning to get a response from the lieutenant.

However, when he turned, there was no ZanYi. "Lieutenant? Lieutenant Tsong?" he called out louder. But there was no response, and he could not find her amongst any of the faces around him. Seeing Tiki still sound asleep, Lili now curled up with her, the Avatar started going through the people, searching.

He went through the entire cavern even. Still no sign of the lieutenant. And Syaoran did not have a good feeling about that. A familiar face did appear though. "Ransik!" he called out, and the waterbender turned to look at him.

"Avatar Syaoran!" he called out, a worn half-smile spreading across his tired face. "You're alive! So what's got you in such a flurry?"

"Have you seen Lieutenant Tsong? She was here a second ago, and now she's gone."

A dark look flashed across the aging man's face. "No, I haven't. I didn't even know she was here…"

On the other side of the cavern, their team's waterbender was still at work, healing. When had Shun become so attuned to the lieutenant's presence? Or was it just coincidence? Either way, the precise moment Shun looked up from healing an earthbender's twisted ankle, he happened to spy ZanYi disappearing back down the tunnel, her walk swift and shoulders set.

So this was her decision. Shun really didn't expect anything else, but he could not help but utter a sigh nonetheless. Reluctantly pardoning himself from the other benders that needed his assistance, the waterbender stalked after ZanYi, his now full canteen bouncing into his side with every stride. His long legs made it easy to catch up with ZanYi, and once she was within shouting distance, Shun called out to her.

"ZanYi, where are you going all by yourself?"

It was a needless question, really: Shun knew exactly where she was going, and for what reason. He only wanted to see how riled up she currently was so he could take an appropriate course of action that coincided with her mood. They had just gotten back on speaking terms today: he didn't want to ruin it, if he could help it.

ZanYi found herself exasperated when she heard Shun's voice call after her. At this point, he was the very last person she wanted to run into. She had purposefully left before she could be given orders. She couldn't help with the ambush. Her brother was not there still. ZanYi had to do something.

And just as she was going to get away without notice, there was Shun Jiang, ready to probably ruin the day all over again.

Reluctantly, she halted her forward motion and turned sideways to look back at Shun. Her face was not one of anger—yet. There might have been some irritation there, though. Her eyes conveyed determination at that moment, persistence. She was not going to back down.

"Where do you think I am going?" she questioned him back with a quirked brow, watching him approach under the tunnel's lights. ZanYi could feel a bit of heat circulate in her left arm and that gave her even more confidence.

Shun almost smiled at the sarcastic quip she threw at him. But he felt it wouldn't be appropriate if he actually smiled, so he kept that impulse under control.

"I think you're going to get yourself into a whole mess of trouble," he guessed, half-serious. He took a few more steps forward to make sure they were not being overheard before he asked his next question: "Mind if I tag along?"

Shun already learned that telling ZanYi she couldn't do something yielded poor results. He didn't want to make an enemy out of her by being overprotective. But the fact that her left arm still seemed out of commission bothered him. The least he could do was offer to have her back, even if they were heading back into the fray that they just barely escaped what seemed like moments before.

He surprised ZanYi; her eyes widened marginally before resuming her scrupulous stare. Considering the previous time they had been put in a similar situation, this was not the result she was expecting. In fact, she was ready to rip him a good one again, if need be. But instead, he was sidling up next to her, requesting to be her back-up.

Though she supposed, given the demeanor he was exuding, while friendly, Shun was not really making it a request. But this sort did not necessarily entice her anger. If she was thinking efficiently, at least having a waterbending healer as back-up was not a bad idea, especially for a solo flight many would think foolhardy.

She took a deep breath and leveled her eyes at him. With a swift look back to the cavern for one split second, ZanYi then started forward again. "I cannot guarantee your safe passage this time, Shun," she warned him.

Shun smirked at this. Whatever one would say about ZanYi, they could never say that she was not compassionate… although she seemed to have a gruff way of showing it.

"You underestimate my power, Lieutenant Tsong," he said in a mock hurt voice, though he was still smirking. "I may not be an AK, but when I put my mind to it, I can kick sufficient butt with my bending."

'_Besides,_' Shun continued the conversation within the confines of his mind, '_I already promised your brother I would do my best to protect you. It would be an insult to him if I let you go back into the lion turtle's den alone._'

And Shun would do his darndest to protect ZanYi when she needed it, otherwise her brother would no doubt have his head.

ZanYi smirked as the man cracked back to her, not that he could see it from behind her. If he was as good at waterbending as he was healing and as good as she felt he might be, the lieutenant was confident in his skills.

But she did know the enemy, and this made the smirk fall off of her lips.

Reaching a certain point, ZanYi stopped. Turning to the wall, there was a ladder and a series of pipes that wound up to the roof of the cave, where there seemed to be a faint outline around a slab of rock. With a deep breath, she thrusted her right punch out, streaming fire to the pipeline. There was a shake to the tunnel as the area above them slid open, the room above dark.

"Not all of us can earthbend, so we installed a couple precautions for us other benders," she explained. Lithely, she climbed up the ladder and slid up to the top room. It was dark because there were no windows, only a bit of light streaming through underneath the door to the room. They were in one of the buildings across from the one they'd stayed out, mostly for tactical preparation. "Let's go, Big Guy," ZanYi encouraged him, keeping a close eye on the door up there.

"Ha ha," came Shun's voice through the opening; he was on the ladder, eyeing the opening into the building ZanYi now stood in. It would be a tight fit—Shun swallowed reflexively at the thought—but he thought he could manage it.

Easing his arms through first so that his shoulders would squeeze past easier, Shun placed both hands on either side of the hole and used his upper body strength to pull his way free. He struggled for a moment, but after a small 'pop', the rest of Shun followed him out of the hole in the floor. The large waterbender straightened up and looked around for a moment before he realized he could barely see anything.

"ZanYi, where are—?" he began to question, before he ran into her. Feeling himself and her stumble, he groped around and found a nearby wall. Swiftly, Shun changed the direction of their momentum, and he ended up pinning ZanYi to the wall. "Sorry," he apologized as soon as he was stable enough to back away. "It's just really dark in here—I can't see a thing."

As much as having him as back-up sounded good a few moments ago, ZanYi was already beginning to rethink her decision—which frankly did bode well for them. Before stepping away from the wall, she gave it a little tap and the floor closed up to the tunnel. It was then almost completely dark.

Lighting the tips of her fingers, she looked over at Shun through the dancing flames. "Just try to be quiet," she shushed him, leaving some fire in her hand to light them as she moved towards the door. "We're in the Tactics Building," ZanYi continued in hushed tones. "My brother should have been here when the ambush occurred, and I bet he didn't stray far if he wanted to give everyone in the barracks time to evacuate."

Edging open the door and seeing the hall lit dim, but clear, ZanYi ushered him after her with a silent hand. She could hear the cries of battle somewhere down the hall. Creeping down the linoleum hall with soundless steps, eventually she found where the fight in question was occurring. How? By a young Neo-Equalist being chucked out of a room by a fire whip.

Zaron.

Staying at the corner, ZanYi removed her earwick, putting it in Shun's large hand. "Things are about to get squirrely, okay? Put this on so you can communicate with Zaron." Glancing furtively around the corner, she found her brother and a few other benders cornered in the farthest room down the hall.

The lieutenant moved back to look around and saw exactly what she was looking for: a metal electrical box. "I'm about to cut the lights. I need you to stay here so you don't stumble again."

Stay there? Shun believed that was the exact opposite of the point of back-up. But ZanYi did have a point: he could not see very well in the dark, and if he ended up tripping her up, they were done for. He gave her a stiff nod and attached the communication unit to his person. If she needed him to stay there, he could do this much.

Before the lieutenant did anything, however, Shun reached out and grasped her arms, his ice blue eyes boring into her golden ones.

"Be careful," he urged her before he let go. They weren't supposed to be here, and Shun was not sure how Zaron would feel about Shun letting his sister come back to a place so dangerous. But if they all got out alive, hopefully it would be forgotten in the glow of their victory.

Thankful he wasn't fighting back with her, she nodded to his demand. This was not the time nor place for disagreements. "If you feel anything come towards you in the dark, knock it out," she told him. "Because if it isn't blazing fire, it's not on our side."

ZanYi took a deep breath to focus herself, allowing the electrical charge to build up in her fingertips. Then she allowed it to shoot forward, striking the electrical box with fury. The halls grew pitch black as the moonless night and there were many yells of confusion. But things weren't great for them either when it lit up, because it was blazes of fire coming at them.

Making swift work of the enemy soldiers as she went, soon the lieutenant was accompanied by a couple more flurries of fire. "What are you doing here?" a male voice hissed in her ear as their backs collided.

"Saving your backside," ZanYi told her brother. "How many do you have with you?"

"Five," Zaron was able to tell her immediately, stepping away to give a fiery slash to another Neo-Equalist in the dark.

"Shun's got my comm and he's around the corner. Tell him that after seven shots of fire pass him, he needs to make another wall of ice to cover us."

Zaron did as such, relaying the orders to the waterbender. He could reconvene with him later about what it meant to have his sister's back, but at the moment, other things were a little more pressing. Moving swiftly down the hall, the two Tsongs ushered their bending comrades past Shun. The firebenders would light their way, and Zaron would flash a fire for those who were not firebenders.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

Just as ZanYi was telling her brother to go, she saw a Neo-Equalist behind him in the light of his flames. "Look out!" she cried. Immediately she went to shoot two blasts of fire. But only one hit its mark. The other one, from her gimpy left hand, imploded. ZanYi slammed back against the wall with a thud, cursing the day nonbenders invented Chi Blocking.

Shun waited, every nerve in his body tensed. He had heard ZanYi cry out, the crackle of explosion, and a worrisome thud somewhere nearby. But he could see nothing, and therefore did not understand what was going on.

"Sergeant Major Tsong? What's happened?" Shun hissed into his device. He did not dare to move, lest he put them in further jeopardy. Having to stay put tested his patience, but he certainly did not want to make things worse.

Zaron knew exactly what happened, and he didn't like it. "Lieutenant's down," he grumbled back in the earwick. He made a whirlwind of fire quick, burning around him. He was surprised, however, when a few more flashes of fire struck someone else on his left.

"Lieutenant is not down," ZanYi grumbled, kicking a Neo-Equalist in the gut as she held her left arm, now useless and singed.

Rolling his eyes and muttering a string of colorful words, he relayed to Shun, "Nevermind. Lieutenant not down. Coming your way."

Knowing his sister was next to them, the two made synchronized and simultaneous movements to flare a wave of fire back. With that window of time, the two blazed by Shun, heading toward the room ZanYi and Shun had entered through. "Now!" both ZanYi and Zaron cried out to Shun.

Shun did not need telling twice. His canteen already uncapped and water already swirling before him, Shun once again spread it out, covering the length and shape of the doorway and freezing it. He had just finished before a loud shattering sound sliced through the air. Shun felt shards of ice hit him and cursed under his breath: in his haste, he had made the wall a lot thinner than he probably should have, and now the Neo-Equalists were breaking through it.

"Time to go," he announced, pushing the Tsong siblings behind him and towards the hole in the floor. The Neo-Equalists were slowly breaking down the wall of ice—by the sound of it, Shun estimated that they had mere seconds before the enemy completely broke through and made their way down the hall to them. Shun summoned more water, bending his water whip into a thin line that he maintained in the middle of the room. A telltale yelp and a resulting thud told him that the first Neo-Equalist had tripped over his makeshift rope, and that the others would trip over the first as well, significantly impeding their progress. Shun turned to where he could feel the Tsong siblings.

"Let's go," he whispered urgently.

No prompting was needed. Zaron leapt down into the hole, not even bothering with the ladder. ZanYi looked to where Shun was, knowing he was going to have a difficult time doing this quickly. "Come on, Shun," she ordered, and before he could protest, the lieutenant tugged him over towards the hole. She jumped down into the tunnel first, and then helped pull him down to speed up the process.

As soon as they reached the ground, Zaron fanned his flame to the pipes, just as ZanYi did earlier. The hole quickly closed up and ZanYi could hear the thud as Neo-Equalists fell onto it, having attempted to jump in quickly.

As the safety of the underground welcomed ZanYi, she breathed a sigh of relief. She leaned back against the tunnel wall. She looked over at her waterbending comrade. "You good, Shun?"

"Better than you are, no doubt."

ZanYi dragged her gaze to face her brother's, his eyes stern. But before he could continue, however, she cut him off. "Sergeant Major," she addressed him, standing straight and leaving her arms at her sides. "This lieutenant put together a small response team to rescue our men. No chain of command or orders were broken."

This served to appease him and add fuel to the fire. His eyes grew sharper. "Do not pull titles into this. You are in trouble with me as your brother, not as another officer."

"The team was rescued and there were no causalities or deaths. The operation was a success."

The two siblings locked gazes that were just about as heated as their bending. "You can be infuriating," Zaron told her. ZanYi smirked.

"As are you."

Zaron cracked a smirk as well and there was a small snicker between them. The sergeant major shook his head, as if this were to be expected. Looking to his sister, he eyed her arm that was battered and freshly scarred. "What happened in there?"

"Tried to firebend with a half-blocked arm."

Shun, who had been watching the short-lived sibling spat quietly, found his attention drawn once more to the lieutenant's left arm. A cringe escaped him as he saw the current state of it, as if it were something repulsive he accidentally came across.

"Let me see," he asked, but ended up carefully taking hold without ZanYi's permission anyway. As he extended her arm to its full length with one hand, he used his free hand to bend water out of his canteen and around her arm. "It looks like someone tried to cook your arm," he muttered unhappily. Keeping one part of his mind focused on healing the scars, Shun searched through his waterbending for the blocked chi flow in the lieutenant's arm. If he could just identify and release the block, in theory, ZanYi should regain control of her arm.

But chi flows, especially ones that had been blocked, were extremely hard to identify—except for airbenders, Shun once heard. He began to wish for Tiki's presence as he fruitlessly searched for the block that was disabling the lieutenant's arm. It had to be there somewhere… if he could just find it…

"Oh," Shun mumbled in surprise. One of his hands had roamed over ZanYi's shoulder as he was healing her scars, and he got the strangest vibe from it: it felt like there was a kink in the lieutenant's shoulder that went deeper than flesh, than bone. With a mounting excitement, the large waterbender drew the water up to the point where ZanYi's shoulder connected with her arm and focused. He could feel something there, as he reached out, something incredibly solid beneath the bone, as if a bullet had lodged itself in the lieutenant's shoulder. Shun closed his eyes and reached out, willing his waterbending to heal further than the flesh, to be able to heal the soul itself…

Slowly, the knot Shun felt loosened, and then dissolved. Shun was breathing hard. This seemingly simple feat had taken a lot out of him—or was he just excited beyond belief? Storing his water back into his canteen, Shun released ZanYi's arm, his eyes fixed upon it, unable to move.

"ZanYi," he addressed the lieutenant, and was glad to hear that his voice was calm enough: if he actually failed, he did not want ZanYi or Zaron to know how disappointed he would be. "I want you to try and summon a flame with your left hand. Can you do that?"

Could it have worked? After years of searching and failed attempts and sleepless nights, had Shun actually found a way to nullify the blocking of chi?

Zaron looked at him with confusion and irritation. "Did you miss the part where it was trying to bend with that hand that got her singed and thrown into a wall?" he asked, incredulous. He had trusted this man to have his sister's back, and yet he seemed oblivious.

However, ZanYi held up a hand to halt his further words. "Zar, he's attempting to find a way to heal blocked chi," she explained. With that, the sergeant major looked from her to Shun with curiosity, quite similar to hers earlier. ZanYi turned her attention to her arm, rolling the shoulder back a few times. "It feels a bit looser, a bit hotter," she noted, and Zaron knew that was a good thing, as a firebender.

Instead of trying to stimulate a quick flash of flame, she made her attempt slow. The last thing she wanted was to send herself back into another wall; it made her back ache. So she focused her chi and tried to create a slow burn.

And sure enough, slowly, the heat grew in the palm of her hand. ZanYi could not believe her eyes as the fire grew and grew in her hand. Shun was beside himself with excitement, but he only showed it through the widening of his eyes that grew with the flame ZanYi produced. He couldn't believe it: he did it. He actually did it!

He was about to allow himself a cheer of victory when ZanYi's flame abruptly went out. It was just as she was about to remark about it, the heat stopped and the pain shot through her. The lieutenant's hand shot to her left arm, adding pressure as she cringed. He watched in horror at the lieutenant hunched over, grimacing in pain.

"Close, but not enough, Shun," she said by way of apology.

Close, but not enough...

Shun sighed and shut his eyes. "I'm sorry," he apologized, shaking his head. "If I had known it would have caused you pain, I wouldn't have asked you to do it."

The bright side was that Shun now knew what he was looking for. If such an occasion ever arose again, he would try once more. But right now, they needed to head back to the base. With gentle hands, the large waterbender helped ZanYi to her feet.

"We should go. We didn't tell anyone we were leaving—Syaoran's bound to be worried, and if Tiki's already awake, she's probably driving him up a wall right now," Shun joked feebly, trying to push away the bitter feelings of failure and disappointment. He had made progress. That was all that should matter at the moment.

ZanYi nodded and took a deep breath, pushing away the pain. "Tiki has the uncanny ability to do that to just about everyone," she agreed as she started to walk with him towards the base. She may have snuck out to do this operation, but it had been a success, and most of the rescued had already made their way ahead, so she had no doubt word was going to spread quickly.

Looking to him, she continued. "I know you're not accustomed to combat, but I do appreciate your attempts," ZanYi told him.

Shun snorted.

"'Attempts'," he quoted her with a grin, "Is that your way of saying that I didn't completely screw everything up? If so, thanks for sparing my feelings."

Shun had never liked using his waterbending offensively. He maintained a firm belief that nothing could be solved with violence alone, but he also agreed that some people understood nothing but violence. The Neo-Equalists fell in the latter way of thinking. So though Shun understood that his enemies needed to be incapacitated, he always regretted having to cause harm to other people. His older brothers had always teased him, saying that he was "gentle to a fault"… Shun just hoped that his mercy would not come back to bite him one day.

Behind them, with careful eyes, was Zaron. First, he had been caught up in the mere concept that chi blocking could be healed, that there would be no more waiting for hours for it to go away. Like ZanYi, he would have opened himself up to that experimentation.

But second, he was watching the man who was accompanying his sister, whose hands seemed to go quite quickly to her in pain. Either Shun was doing his best to be a man of his word or he was afraid to look like he wasn't doing his part in front of Zaron. Either way, he also knew that this was the only person who dared to so easily touch ZanYi, and only one who risked it in front of him.

This was turning out to be more interesting than he had desired and was not sure what to do with this revelation.

The large waterbender felt eyes on him. Curious, Shun turned to find that the sergeant major was giving him a most peculiar look, as if he were trying to puzzle the other man out. Shun did not know what to make of this gaze, but he was reminded of the fact that ZanYi and Zaron rarely spent any time together. Now would be a good opportunity to make himself scarce.

"I'm gonna go on ahead," he told ZanYi, pacing a few steps ahead of her, "for damage control. You know, just in case Tiki's in hysterics again. No one else should have to be put through that."

Laughing to himself, Shun jogged ahead, his pace only slowing when he reached the secondary base and to tumultuous applause: apparently his and ZanYi's 'daring rescue' had already reached all ears of the base. Shun shook off questioners by promising that Lieutenant and Sergeant Major Tsong were on their way and would be able to give them all the details they wanted, and he made a beeline straight for Syaoran.

When Shun rushed ahead, ZanYi looked back to figure out what he had seen. It was Zaron, but she knew that look on his face. Therefore, she halted her steps and faced her brother, a brow lifted in her deadpan. "What do you have to say, Zar?" she queried.

Zaron gazed past her to the retreating waterbender before looking back to her. "I have nothing to say at this point, ZaZa."

She didn't believe him. "Zaron."

He held his hands up in surrender, coming over to her with a neutral look on his face. He said not a word, but his eyes conveyed everything. They flickered from her to where Shun disappeared and back. His eyebrow raised.

"No, Zaron. And even if so, it's none of your business, as usual."

ZanYi gave him a roll of her eye, but a soft pat on his shoulder before walking away. Entering the cavern, she was bombarded by applause and questions. She waved to her comrades, conversing easily amongst them.

When Shun found Syaoran, Tiki, the large waterbender noted, was still fast asleep, despite all the noise in the base.

"She hasn't woken up yet, huh? That's good," Shun said to Syaoran in hushed tones. "You should be getting sleep too, Avatar. You have to be exhausted."

Syaoran, however, looked from the lieutenant as she entered the room, back to Shun. "Where did you guys go?" he asked him, ignoring Shun's initial attempt at conversation. Tiki had been out, so there was no time for her to be concerned. But him and Ransik, on the other hand, had scoured the place for both Lieutenant Tsong and Shun, once they realized the former was missing.

Shun had the decency to look sheepish.

"The lieutenant took it upon herself to rescue the sergeant major and some other comrades from under siege in one of the tactical buildings near the first base," he began to explain, sinking down onto the end of Tiki's cot. "I expected she was going to do something potentially reckless, so I went along as back-up. I caused a little more trouble than I meant to, but we made it out alive at least."

They had been lucky. _Very_ lucky. Had it been anyone else but ZanYi, Shun was certain that the worst would have happened.

"Alive? I'd wager we did better than that."

ZanYi strode up to the conversation, hands on her sides as she came to a halt. She looked at the two males each before zeroing in on Shun. "We got out alive and saved six of our soldiers from death, capture, or torture, one of which was a highly ranked officer."

"Who also happens to be your brother," Syaoran muttered before he processed the sassy thought. He froze as soon as he said it, and the look on the lieutenant's face issued him a challenge to say it again. Life valued, Syaoran decided against it.

Taking a deep breath, he reverted back to the conversation. "Well, you don't look any worse for wear, so that's certainly a good sign," Syaoran congratulated, and truly his teacher did not look bad off at all. Or maybe Shun had healed her already. That was also a possibility. "Though, you could have brought me along. I may not be a full-fledged firebender yet, but I could've helped with the tunnels."

"Absolutely not," she shot him down, and Syaoran felt like a child put in time out by the gaze ZanYi gave him. "That would have compromised us far more than Shun already did."

The Avatar glanced furtively between the two. "Just what exactly happened?"

ZanYi said nothing but gave a little snicker and a smirk.

Shun looked embarrassed, brow puckering at ZanYi's maddening smirk.

"Not all of us can move covertly in the dark or produce fire to see in the dark any time we want," he reminded her, a sour note in his tone. "And there's kind of too much of me to be stumbling around in the dark…"

The large waterbender let his mumblings trail off into nothingness after realizing how childish he sounded. What ZanYi said was true: Shun had compromised them. He was just lucky he hadn't knocked over a chair or something… it had been ZanYi that he nearly knocked over. Shun shook his head, wishing the faint flush in his cheeks would disappear.

"In any case," he pressed on, "I'm thankful we were able to make it out of the lion turtle's den alive—as well as saving six of our soldiers from death, capture or torture. All in all, not a bad day's work."

A groan from Tiki earned Shun's attention. The little airbender was trying to pull the sheet over her head, but realizing that it would not budge, she sufficed with pulling the pillow over her head instead.

"Shun, stop talking," she complained, her voice muffled by the cot. "You're too loud."

"Sorry, Teeks," Shun apologized, grinning.

ZanYi's smirk left quickly at the sound of Tiki's voice, and was thankful the little airbender seemed quite intent on sleeping. At the hour it was, the lieutenant was not certain she could handle the ball of energy. Lights were starting to die down, dimming the cavern as the excitement left and soldiers made their cots.

"It's about time you got some rest too, Syaoran," she said, looking over at young man she was standing next to. Syaoran looked down at her, realizing his earlier thoughts were true. There truly were only a few inches between them. He'd always thought himself tall, but between the lieutenant and Shun, he no longer felt as such. He turned away from her, inexplicably a bit pink.

"That sounds like a good plan," he agreed. Before walking over to the cot next to Tiki, he bid goodnight to Shun and when he turned to ZanYi, he almost lifted a hand to rest on her shoulder as he did so. However, there was a part of him that feared repercussions—or was perhaps anxious?—and he did not. Climbing into the bed, he found himself quickly unwinding and asleep in no time.

Shun watched this exchange with a quirked eyebrow. What had that been about? Shun could not be completely sure, of course, but if his instincts were right—and they were, most of the time—it appeared that the Avatar was beginning to see the lieutenant as more than just his firebending teacher. Filing that observation away for careful consideration at a later date, Shun stood up and approached ZanYi himself.

"Do me a favor," he began, "and let me know if there are any strange side-effects with your left arm. I'm not sure what went wrong when I tried to unblock your chi flow, so if your arm starts feeling strange at all, let me know."

That said, the large waterbender took the cot on the other side of Tiki and curled himself up as best he could; his feet still jutted out at the bottom. Shun laid down on his pillow and smiled up at ZanYi.

"Until then, you should try and get some sleep, Lieutenant. Good night."

Sleep was overrated, ZanYi wanted to tell him, but instead she just nodded simply to the giant with a smirk before turning on her heel to walk away. On the more lit side of the room, she found her brother and a couple other of the well-ranked officers.

"Everything squared away with the Avatar?" Zaron asked as his sister joined the group, pleased to receive her concurring nod. He inclined his head in return and then turned back to the others around them. "We need to start planning a counter-offensive," he told the gentlemen and women.

"I agree," ZanYi piggybacked, looking to them with severity on her face. "They know we're underground now, and it's only a matter of time before they drill their way down here. The time to act is now and quickly."

An earthbending sergeant major pursed his lips while frowning. "Most of our troops are exhausted, and we have wounded. It will be difficult to pull off anything at this point," he pointed out, eyes glancing to the slumbering. ZanYi shook her head.

"That may be true, but if we do not act soon, we will continually be on the defensive and we will lose ground. We can't afford that, and you know it."

The other officers looked at each other with questions in their gazes. The Tsongs, however, looked only at them, not needing the eye contact to know they were a united front on this matter. That much was very apparent to others as well.

"What are you proposing?" a waterbending sergeant major inquired, her face expressing willingness to hear them out.

"I'm suggesting we take back Omashu now."

Zaron's words held the air around them very tight, and all of the officers straightened up, breaths bated. "No more skirmishes. It's now or never." At the metal table at their side, he moved over to begin pointing at spots on the outspread map. The group shifted over to look, ZanYi at her brother's side overlooking the map. "If we have the water unit of the battalion and our other waterbenders strike their encampment tonight, we'll have the element of surprise and the moon on our side."

"That gives them the least amount of rest, and we've been working on healing the wounded all evening already," came Ransik's voice, coming up on ZanYi's other side.

"Your team has been the one focusing on the healing," ZanYi then picked up, responding to her comrade and elaborating upon her brother's plan. "We'll have the battalion's division go first, and your team will come in as a second wave, allowing more time for your benders to rest some. But if we don't start soon, we'll lose the element of surprise that comes from quick retaliation."

Ransik seemed to ponder and mull over this before nodding slowly. "Agreed," he concurred, then rested his palms on the table, now eagerly listening to whatever else the Tsongs were concocting. Zaron took this encouragement and turned back to the rest of the officers who still needed more convincing.

"The waterbenders can weaken the forces in the night, and then at dawn, my unit will go in to assist them to help push them back further. Soon after that, the next wave of earthbenders will come in to stabilize everything we've pushed back already, hopefully pushing them far enough to get them out of the city."

"But what about the palace? Without the high ground and top of the city, we can't fully regain the city," the earthbender pushed, trying to analyze the problem from every angle. While there was no longer a monarchy and Omashu had industrialized long ago, the palace had been saved as a historical monument, now the city hall, the pinnacle of the city.

"That's where I come in." ZanYi spoke up again, and all eyes went to her. Zaron's lip curled in the corner, knowing his sister would pick up her role without mention. "I will take the AKs and we'll use the expanse of tunnels to invade the palace and reclaim it."

"And what about the Avatar, Lieutenant Tsong?" Ransik's voice asked, knowing this elaborate plan left out that crucial team, ZanYi's second team. She had to take a deep breath before answering.

"The Avatar and his team will accompany the AKs."

Silence filled the void between them. There was the tricky point. Having the Avatar with them was as much a liability as it was a blessing at this point. He would be the center of all conflict if he was to be discovered amongst their ranks, and this would be taking him into the heart of danger.

For a minute, no one seemed certain of what to say, how to go about this. They needed a plan, stat. But this was a big risk. "I'm not sure having him amongst your ranks would be beneficial to our success."

It was the earthbending sergeant major again. ZanYi grit her teeth. The man had always been against her promotions and constantly undermining her. "Having the Avatar amongst my ranks would be the safest place for him," she explained calmly, holding down the anger within her. "He would not be on the front lines where the majority of battle will be fought and he will have his own team, my team, and myself looking out for him."

"But who is to say that is the safest place for him?"

"Would you like to face me in fight? Because if you are doubting me or my team, we can solve this quite quickly."

ZanYi stared down the older man, and Zaron had to keep himself from chuckling. No one in their right mind from their base would willingly fight an AK or, worse, his sister. The argument was enough to convince everyone else. "It's settled then. I'll allow my team to sleep for a bit, and we will start moving through the tunnels before dawn, so that when the final wave of reinforcements hits the forefront, we will be in place to hold the capital."

Zaron nodded, as did Ransik, immediately. And soon the agreement was nearly unanimous. Her critic at the table, outnumbered, finally caved and nodded. The sergeant majors dispersed to prepare for their roles, and Ransik clasped his hand on ZanYi's shoulder, bidding her luck, before leaving her standing before her brother.

"Go get some rest," Zaron told her. "Your team will be moving out in a matter of hours." He held out his hand and ZanYi clasped it tightly. Their familial flames danced and merged into one, the reflection in each of their eyes. "Be careful out there."

"You as well."

Breaking their stare, ZanYi moved back to where the Avatar, Shun, and Tiki rested. Taking the cot on the other side of Syaoran, the firebender collapsed. Her amber eyes surveyed the sleeping group, almost pitying. They had no idea that in the coming hours, the hardest day yet would commence.

Lying out on her back, sleep soon welcomed the lieutenant like an old friend. As she drifted away, ZanYi only hoped it would be enough.

* * *

**A/N from Eva: Whew, this is one of our longer chapters! x.x Thank you for your tireless work in editing, DJ! I will resume my part soon to make the process a little easier, I promise! Oh my goodness, so many reviews and alerts! You all are just precious! :D DJ came to visit me last weekend, and she would tell me whenever we got a new review or alert so it was a very good weekend for us. Much love to you guys!  
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**R.A.T.G: Ah ha ha, our first shipper! XD Like DJ said oh so diplomatically last chapter, we will neither confirm nor deny your suspicions. You'll just have to keep reading to find out. ;) Hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
**

**KingTK414: We're so glad you're interested in our story enough to put it on your Alert list! Please let us know what you think as well! We hope you continue to read and enjoy!  
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**Huggerofplatypus: Holy crap: story alert, author alert, favorite story, favorite author and TWO reviews? You are our jackpot this week! I wish I had something to give you as a prize! XD Thank you so much for your compliments, they made us smile! Yeah, we don't joke around when it comes to fire, or any other element, really. If you play with fire, you get burned, and all that jazz. XD Hope you enjoyed the update!  
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**Mz. Jinky: Welcome back! :D Hahaha, I'm glad that you like my characters! I love them too, although Tiki tends to give me headaches from time to time, ha ha. I hope you enjoyed this update!  
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**Japaneserockergirl: Thank you so much! Ah yes, poor Shun and his never-ending battle against his scruffiness. XD Thanks for the constructive criticism! We hope you will continue to read and enjoy!  
**


	10. The Counterstrike

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire **

**By Twins of the Pen**

******Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

* * *

Syaoran woke when he could no longer ignore the loud hustle and bustle around him. It felt like he had just gone to sleep, and his eyes had to be forced open. Sitting up slowly, he was surprised to find most of the cavern gone, only a few regiments still present.

"Get enough sleep, Avatar?"

He turned to find the lieutenant using her cot to hold up her foot as she pulled on a pair of military grade boots. Much unlike the last he'd seen her, she was dressed in full military garb, and so were many of the AKs moving about the cave.

"Yeah…" he managed to answer. Syaoran didn't bother to ask her the same; he could tell she hadn't by the bags that rested beneath her eyes. "What's going on?"

"We're moving out in twenty minutes. We're taking back Omashu."

Tiki, who had been awake for some time but did not want to get up just yet, sat bolt upright at the news.

"You mean…" she began, her voice rough from sleep and all the wailing she did yesterday, "…we're fighting?"

Tiki did not like this idea in the slightest. The only time she ever permitted herself to fight was when she was backed into a corner by Neo-Equalists. And now they were apparently looking for a fight with all the nonbenders that inhabited Omashu? This plan spelled doom to her. Sure, she had been very gung-ho about fighting with the Resistance when she first arrived with Syaoran, but after the close shave the night before, to say that Tiki was nervous about having to take on the whole capital was quite an understatement.

"What do you think about this, Shun?" Tiki turned to ask, hoping she was not alone in her misgivings—but Shun was not in the cot next to her. In fact, as she turned to look around, she could not see the large waterbender anywhere. "Where did Shun go?"

"I'm right here, Teeks."

Tiki turned around to find Shun behind her in military garb that looked two sizes too small for him. He kept tugging at the neckline at the black t-shirt he wore and looked uncomfortable.

"I needed to change clothes," he replied to her questioning look, "I ripped my shirt yesterday, and one of the more… enthusiastic officers insisted that I be dressed properly so I wouldn't disgrace the name of the Resistance." Shun cringed. How he wished he had time to grab his satchel, or even his beloved motorcycle, which was probably being abused as he thought of her… poor Ai…

Shaking his head, Shun returned his attention to Tiki and Syaoran. "You should start getting ready," he suggested to the two as he strode over to ZanYi, "We only have twenty minutes until deployment, right, Lieutenant?"

Shun's joking smile faded when he noticed the bags under ZanYi's eyes.

"Rough night?" he asked in an undertone. He hoped she would be up to the monumental task they were trying to accomplish today. The burden of victory did lie most heavily on her shoulders, after all.

"Not rough, just long," the lieutenant responded, just as hushed. She paused in her movements to give him a mirthful look. "Nice outfit, Big Guy," she scoffed with a smirk. Finishing lacing up her boots, ZanYi stood upright and looked over the confused Syaoran and panicked Tiki. "You are not required to fight if you do not wish. However, you are required to still come along the AKs and myself. That much is for your own safety."

Syaoran took a deep breath, and seeing as how ZanYi and Shun seemed prepared to fight, it gave him a bit of incentive. "No, I'll fight," he complied, rising from his cot. He looked at ZanYi with a determined glaze. "I may not be a great firebender yet, but I can at least earthbend."

ZanYi nodded to him, pleased. "You will still have to stick close to me," she told him, warning him. "You and Tiki get dressed and prepare yourselves the best you can. We have the most important role today and I will not stand for failure."

As she walked away to secure the rest of her unit, Syaoran stood to find a pair of fresh clothes at the foot of the cot. "I'm going to go changed real fast," he told Shun and Tiki, grabbing the clothes and running off down to one of the tunnels.

Tiki watched him go, and then turned her troubled gray eyes onto Shun.

"When was this decided? Did I sleep through the whole debate?"

Shun shrugged. "All I know is that when I woke up this morning, half the base was gone. Apparently this decision was made the night before, since all the waterbenders are gone," he explained. Tiki groaned and sank back down onto her cot, her head in her hands.

"I don't know if I can do this," she whispered to her fingers. Though the little airbender was relieved to hear that she did not have to fight, once caught in the fray, would she have a choice? Could she really cower behind others as they fought for Omashu—for their lives?

Something heavy dropped down on Tiki's head, and she looked up in surprise: Shun was standing over her, his hand outstretched over her head, where he had dropped his too small military jacket onto her head. Now that the jacket was out of the way, Tiki could tell just how tightly that t-shirt was fitting on Shun. He gave her an encouraging grin when she raised her eyes to his.

"Now what kind of attitude is that?" Shun asked, kneeling down so that he was only towering over Tiki by a couple inches. "Where is the Tiki who's always smiling and manages to make a joke out of anything? Where's the Tiki that's always bursting with energy and wants to be involved with everything? Where's the Tiki we all know and love?"

Tiki frowned at the large waterbender. His words were sweet, but some of them rang insincere. "I get on everyone's nerves," she pointed out in a rare moment of honesty. Shun could not help but laugh at this.

"Maybe so, but the way you're always cheerful makes it impossible to hate you, Teeks," he assured her, ruffling her hair with the jacket on her head. "Come on, give me a smile."

Slowly, Tiki gave Shun a tremulous smile, which he returned ten-fold.

"That's my girl. Now go get dressed. Whatever happens today, I promise to protect you."

"Cross your heart?"

Shun drew his index finger across his chest, making an X over his heart. "Waterbender's honor," he promised her with a grin. Tiki returned the grin, gave Shun a hug, and then dashed off with her spare clothes in hand to change. Sitting down on the cot she just vacated, Shun reached over and scratched a still-slumbering Lili behind the ears.

"She'll be all right, won't she, Lili?" Shun asked the lemur softly. The sudden lack of confidence in the little airbender worried him, but he hoped that she would not be disheartened further by today's battle. It would be a long and hard one, so Tiki could not afford to be down on herself. None of them could.

Syaoran walked up to the large man, freshly clothed. "Who are you talking about, Shun?" he asked, zipping up his military jacket as he did so. Tiki was missing, so he assumed that she was going to change as well. If they had any clothes to fit a girl as tiny as her, it was going to be a miracle. After all, it was quite apparent they held no clothes for a man the size of Shun.

"I'm sure the lieutenant will be just fine. She's the lieutenant," Syaoran repeated, as if her title was any inclination of what that meant. He looked to the lemur Shun was petting and thought of the other girl in their group. "As for Tiki…"

He was going to say she would be fine, since she was Tiki. But considering the airbender's meltdown the day before, Syaoran could not say so definitively. However, he said with what honesty he could muster, "She will be safe. She's got you, me, and even Lieutenant Tsong won't let something happen to her."

His eyes drifted to the lieutenant, who was rushing amongst the AKs and ordering them about. ZanYi would not let anything happen to him; he was also the Avatar. But Tiki was part of Team Avatar, and therefore under the same rights, as far he considered it. Syaoran tightened the boots he was given, securing them tightly. "Tiki will be safe."

Shun smiled at the Avatar's reassurances.

"Yeah. I guess it makes no sense to worry. It _is _Tiki, after all," he agreed, voicing Syaoran's unspoken thoughts out loud. He followed Syaoran's gaze and spotted ZanYi, appearing as if she were in her element as she gave commands to her soldiers. His smile widening, Shun turned back to adjust his ponytail.

"ZanYi's quite remarkable herself, as you've already noticed," Shun said, a wickedly playful note in his tone as he grinned at the Avatar. If Syaoran had understood what Shun was indicating, he never got the chance to reply: Tiki had popped up again.

"TA-DAH!" he reinvigorated airbender sang, presenting herself with a fantastic pose. "What do you think?"

Shun gaped. Tiki, it appeared, had chosen to opt out of the standard issue military outfit both he and Syaoran donned, in favor of what appeared to be a makeshift Chinese style mini dress created out of the jacket Shun had discarded. She gave a twirl, her twin tails whipping at the air.

"Isn't it cute? I thought the pants, jacket and t-shirt ensemble was too boring: everyone's wearing them, and they all look too much alike! So I thought I'd add a little pizzazz to—hey, what's so funny?" Tiki ranted at Shun, who had burst into laughter.

"Oh, nothing," he finally gasped, a wide grin spread across his face as he ruffled Tiki's hair. "It's just good to have the old Tiki back."

Tiki stuck her tongue out at him and turned to Syaoran. "What do you think, Syaoran? I can make you one, if you want!"

This suggestion made Shun laugh so hard he almost fell off of Tiki's cot. Lili awoke with a shriek and flew off to perch on her master's head, throwing the highly amused Shun indignant looks.

Syaoran just looked at her, marveled at levels of outrageousness that the airbender constantly achieved. They were about to be a part of a take-over plan, and she was worried about making a fashion statement. He slapped a hand against his forehead. "Yes, Tiki is going to be just fine," he muttered under his breath. To her, he said, "I'm going to pass, though if you want to make one big enough for Shun, I'm sure he'd appreciate it."

He looked away from his two comrades as the lieutenant started to stride over. As Shun had said, she was remarkable. Syaoran thought that was a given. What he was implying by that, he was not entirely sure. But her air of confidence as she walked over was enough to stop his thinking and hone in only on her.

"Are we good to leave over here?" she asked, looking at each of them singularly. "We're ready for deployment, and the sooner we get a move on, the better it is for everyone already out there fighting."

Syaoran nodded, and ZanYi appreciated the acknowledgment, though she did find the look he was giving her a bit odd. She turned to Tiki as she pranced about in her non-military attire and gave her a look that expressed how bizarre she thought the child was. So instead, she said nothing to the airbender and looked finally at Shun. "You ready to get going?"

Finally sobering up—though there was still a grin on his face—the large waterbender stood up and saluted ZanYi.

"Yes ma'am, Lieutenant," he replied at once, making sure his full canteen was strapped tightly to him.

"I'm ready to go too!" Tiki chimed in, pushing herself in between Shun and Syaoran to be acknowledged. "And I'm keeping a firm grip on Lili this time. They won't be able to get away with the same stunt twice!"

Indeed, Tiki had made sure Lili would not stray from her by tying the unfortunate lemur to her waist with one of the arms of the jacket-dress she wore. Lili did not look pleased with this turn of events. Lastly, Tiki grabbed her jacket glider and secured the sleeves around her neck.

"Let's do this," she said, small face set with determination. No matter what happened today, Tiki was going to make sure that she harbored no regrets after the battle.

Assured that the team was ready to go, ZanYi acknowledged all of them and registered each of their reactions. Shun seemed pleasant, but she noticed his secure hold on his canteen of water. Tiki was perky and exuberant, but even she held determination in her gaze. It was the lighter version of the set on Syaoran's face. Either way, whether they fully realized the gravity of the situation, they were as ready as they were going to be.

"Everyone!" she beckoned, and the room fell silent, all eyes upon her. Syaoran looked around the room and noticed the grave set on each of their faces as they looked to the lieutenant. They were full of determination, full of respect, pride, fire. ZanYi had told him he had to stop thinking like an earthbender and more like a firebender. He was starting to understand more and more what that meant.

"This is our time!" ZanYi continued, her voice echoing through the cavern, firm and strong. "Omashu was founded by the benders, but we have been outlawed within our own homes! Today is the first step to reclaiming our rights! We are going to take back this city!"

Her soldiers cheered in agreement, but Syaoran found himself silent. The words may not have been profound, but there was fire in her voice, passion and conviction. There was heart. And it resonated within everyone in the room. Syaoran could feel the heat rise within him and almost feel the flames dance between his fingertips. Is this what it meant to be a firebender?

His eyes only fell on ZanYi. Remarkable, indeed she was. "Now," the lieutenant continued, "let's move out!"

* * *

Silence. That was all Team Avatar could hear as they strode in the midst of the AKs through the Omashu palace. Truly, it was grandeur, though like stepping into the past. It was richly furnished and decoratively green. But that didn't erase the dirty footsteps everywhere, the war-scarred walls, the high pillars cracked and burnt.

The palace seemed deserted: since their easy infiltration that was much too easy, they had not seen a soul. Shun was tensed, his eyes searching for any quick movements and ears straining to hear any stealthy approaches by enemies, but unless both his eyes and ears were failing him, there was no one around. This fact did not assure him; it put him on a sharper edge than the one he was already occupying when they left.

"Something isn't right…" he mumbled from ZanYi's left. Where were all the Neo-Equalists? Why did they not emerge to defend the palace? Were they that self-assured that the palace was in so strong a grip that no one could liberate it? Or was Team Avatar and the AKs headed straight for a trap?

Tiki didn't like the odd silence either. She kept glancing around, as if expecting the Boogey Man to pop out and scare they daylights out of her. She stayed close to Syaoran and managed to resist the urge to cling onto the sleeve of his jacket like a child; if she was to be taken seriously, she would have to behave her age… at least for right now.

Every now and then, the little airbender would sneak a guilty glance down at her restrained lemur that, once it appeared her patience ran out, had begun shrieking quite loudly for her release. It was with chagrin that Tiki gagged Lili with a spare ribbon, and the lemur kept giving her master disgruntled looks, as if protesting the injustice of the situation.

"Where is everyone…?" she could not help but ask Syaoran, looking nervous as her eyes darted about. This unnatural silence was ominous, and it made her skin crawl. What was waiting for them just around the corner, she wondered?

Syaoran was as tense as Tiki. So far, everything had gone off without a hitch. They'd made it quietly through the tunnels, into the city, and infiltrated the palace. And yet, as key a component as the landmark was, there was no resistance whatsoever. "I don't know, Tiki," he answered honestly, keeping his voice low, as if anything louder would bring havoc raining down on them.

Everyone around them was tense, their footsteps light as could be on the soiled, expensive carpets. ZanYi could feel it in the air. She did not need Shun's words to know that. Her golden eyes surveyed the grand surroundings. "There's no way they moved all of the troops to the front," she muttered to herself. That meant someone had to have been left to guard the palace.

With quiet, swift hand gestures, she split her troops in two opposite directions to surround the area and check it room by room. Team Avatar and a select number stayed with ZanYi. Coming up on the throne room, she halted them. Gesturing to the AKs again, they parted the doors and ZanYi lead the soldiers in, guard up.

And for good measure. Because that was when enemy soldiers finally came into sight—right before the bomb went off at their feet.

Shun's eyes widened. He had been half a step behind ZanYi, and was therefore blasted back along with her and a couple of the AKs. Ignoring the screaming pain of his flesh, Shun reached out and grabbed ZanYi, pulling her into the shelter of his arms before they hit the wall opposite the entrance of the throne room. Shun, who had only been concerned about ZanYi's safety at the time, absorbed the full brunt of the impact in the worst way possible: his head cracked against the stone of the hall very hard. Shun saw a fleeting image of the rest of the AKs rushing in to engage Neo-Equalists in combat before everything went dark.

"SHUN!" Tiki screamed, looking frightened as the large waterbender's eyes rolled back into his head, which lolled to the side. But Tiki had no time to check on whether he was unconscious or worse: a Neo-Equalist headed straight for her, striking swiftly and determinedly. Tiki's reflexes reacted; she jumped up into the air, landed hard on the enemy's head, forcing him into the ground, and flipped gracefully over his fallen body, landing on her feet.

Anger was overtaking her fear now. Seeing Shun being taken out by such an underhanded trick fueled her indignation, and she threw herself into the midst of the battle, blasting air attacks at their enemies and avoiding being blocked and captured with flips and kicks.

'_You've got this, Tiki,_' the little airbender assured herself as she ducked low and tripped up another enemy soldier, '_You've always been good at this game. This is just a bigger version of Keep-Away, and you're still it… along with a dozen other people. I hope Syaoran's doing okay._'

Tiki could not look around for the Avatar to assuage her fears: if she lost focus for one second during this game, someone would get hurt… and that someone would most likely be her.

ZanYi felt herself cut from shrapnel, but it could have been so much worse. "Shun!" she called out to the man, feeling his grasp fall limp. She saw his eyes roll back and his eyes close softly. The lieutenant checked quickly to his neck, and, finding him still breathing, she exhaled. As long as he was alive. Now to focus on other things.

Finding Tiki standing on her own, she looked for the other member of their smaller group. And soon she found the earthbender. Or more like, he found her. She felt the floor beneath her shake and move. Syaoran uprooted a slab of tile to create a wall against the oncoming soldiers. "Lieutenant!" he cried out, seeing her at Shun's side.

"He's out cold, but he's okay!" she called out. Quickly rising to her feet, she flew some fire discs past him, burning a Neo-Equalist coming up on his side. Speaking into her communication unit, she ordered, "All AKs, report to the throne room! We have an ambush!"

"What do we do?" Syaoran shouted down to her, watching as ZanYi quickly moved to stand next to him.

Her golden eyes were serious as they grazed him. "Build up a wall to protect Shun while he's out," she ordered him, and Syaoran did as such. "Now, keep track of Tiki and watch her back. I'll take the soldiers."

As ZanYi leapt back into the fray, Syaoran found Tiki flipping all over the place. And if there was one thing he learned, it was to obey orders. So he ran over to join her. With a firm stomp, he raised a wall in the face of some of her offenders, keeping them at bay. "I've got you, Tiki!"

Tiki was grateful for the sudden emergence of stone in between her and her attackers. She turned back to thank Syaoran when she noticed the Neo-Equalist creeping up behind him.

"Oh no you don't!" she spat, jumping up over Syaoran and using his shoulders as a push off as she donkey kicked the approaching soldier in the face. Blood gushed from his broken nose as he lay moaning on the ground. Tiki shot the Avatar a grin and a thumbs-up over her shoulder. "And I've got you, Syaoran!"

They worked that way, back-to-back, taking out any soldiers that were foolish enough to cross their paths. Though the elements the commanded were as different as night and day, they were able to make up for each other's weaknesses as well as play up each other's strengths. It was a surprisingly effective combination.

"Is Shun all right?" Tiki had to ask as she kicked a chi blocker in his privates, her kitty grin on full display as he went down with a moan. She had noticed that there was a large stone wall concealing the giant waterbender from view, and hoped fervently that it was to keep him from further harm rather than from a desire to preserve his body.

Earthbending a few stones at the guts of some Neo-Equalists, Syaoran managed to grunt a reply to his combat partner. "Shun's going to be fine," he relayed, turning to kick back another soldier. "Lieutenant says he's out cold, but he's okay."

And while fighting with Tiki was somehow extremely effective, it made his eyes drift away. Fire was everywhere, the Agni-Kais doing their best to repel the enemy. And more were flooding into the room, the rest of the unit now serving as their reinforcements. By numbers, they were doing well. But he couldn't find what he was looking for.

Until, out of the corner of his eye, Syaoran saw blue flames erupt in a wave against several soldiers. That's when he found ZanYi. She was fighting at her utmost best, whirling like a tornado of fire. The Neo-Equalists around her went down one after another in quick succession.

It was then she found the man responsible for this attack standing at the top of the steps by the throne. He was a middle-aged man, his mustache frowning just as much as his grim and scarred face was. With a strong leap, ZanYi struck a fiery drop kick down upon him. Despite his age, he jumped back quickly. From there it was a battle of blows, narrowly avoiding each other as they danced amongst the chaos.

After knocking down another enemy solider at Tiki's back, he turned to find another coming up behind ZanYi with what resembled a hippo cow prod. This stick, however, was surging with lightning. "Lieutenant!" he called out to warn her. That was when the incredible happened, or at least it seemed so to him.

ZanYi turned as the electricity jabbed her side and coursed through her violently. With strain, her hand gripped the prod, her teeth grit, and she pointed her other hand to the foreign leader. The full force of the lightning zapped him hard and back into the wall. Giving a solid fire blast to her assailant, ZanYi sprinted over to the fallen man.

Lifting him up, she slammed him against the wall, holding him up with one hand and blue flames engulfing her pulled back fist. "Tell them to stand down," she demanded, looking deadly into his eyes.

Doing well under the circumstances, the man merely stared straight at her, trying to control the rising anxiety in him. "We will never give in to your bullying!" he told her. ZanYi frowned.

"Take away our rights and _we're_ the bullies. Right. Tell your men to stand down or I will show you bullying."

The general opened his mouth—to hurl more abuse, by the looks of his expression—when something quite unexpected happened.

The walls of the throne room had been greatly weakened by the battle, so as they began to crumble, so too did the water pipes built just beyond the walls. With a great groan that reverberated through the room, the big pipes burst, pooling water rapidly into the room. It was then, in the confusion, that a rapid chill spread through the air. Before anyone knew it, the water soaking the floor had turned to ice. Combatants both friend and foe alike were either trapped or slipped on the treacherous new flooring, but this soon became no problem for the AKs, who promptly freed themselves from the icy prisons and leaving their foes to their fates.

Shun was striding through the room, perfectly at ease on the icy floor, but wobbling a little from his recent head injury. His ponytail had come undone, and his long brown hair fell around his shoulders, soaked with blood. A steady stream of blood was pouring down the left side of his face as well, but Shun just blinked it away, hardly seeming to notice. Tiki stared open-mouthed at him as he made his way over to where she and Syaoran stood frozen, consenting to return the ice that encased their feet and shins back into water.

"Shun, you're bleeding!" Tiki burst out once she was free, eying the large waterbender with great concern. "You should hurry up and heal yourself!"

Shun gave the little airbender a faint smile and a pat on the head, but otherwise did not acknowledge her. He passed by ZanYi and the enemy leader and headed straight for the throne, sinking down onto it as if he belonged there. He propped his throbbing head up on his fist and eyed the general as if he were an interesting television show.

"Not to steal your thunder," Shun smiled at his feeble joke, "but his men are taken care of, ZanYi. Maybe you should try getting some useful information out of him instead."

The back of his head throbbed in agony, but he made an enormous effort to ignore it. His head would have to be dealt with later; there were more important issues at hand.

Syaoran could only stare at the amount of effort Shun was exerting. He had gotten blown up, knocked out, and was bleeding from a head wound as he froze the entire enemy regiment and managed to save the day. If he did not think so before, between the lieutenant and Shun alone, they were in very safe hands.

All he could say to Tiki was, "I told you he'd be okay." It was as he walked over towards them that he heard his teacher.

"Syaoran, mind giving me some shackles?" ZanYi suggested. Obediently, the earthbender raised some fallen stones, morphing them to manacle the general to the wall. At last, ZanYi could drop her hand from holding the man, if only to set both fists ablaze. "Well, looks like we've got our pest problem squared away."

"You all are the pests!" he exerted, thrashing violently against the wall, but to no avail. Syaoran grimaced as the man shot a look so vile towards him. Even in the encampments, normally the looks were of mockery, not of such pure hatred. It made him broil and revolt a little inside.

Exhausting one hand, ZanYi backhanded the man without a flinch, the sound echoing louder then the booted footsteps of her soldiers gathering. "Enough with your crap," she cut him off, precise with her words. "You're going to tell me what I want to know."

"And why would I do that? I'm no traitor!" the foe barked again, spitting into her face. Her face riled in revulsion and there was a synchronous flurry of fireballs—courtesy of very loyal AKs—that attacked and marked around his head, the heat almost singing him. The lieutenant simply wiped away the spit as she glowered at him, and Syaoran found it surprising that she had not blown off his head yet.

"You're going to tell me what I want to know," she continued, as if nothing had even happened, "because that's the difference between you becoming a prisoner-of-war and having a chance return home after this war or becoming fresh barbeque right now."

The man looked from the blue fire that fluttered between her fingers and the armed fists of the Agni-Kais surrounding them. He stared at the lieutenant, but he said nothing, ceasing to run his mouth. ZanYi took this as a sign to continue.

"Tell me: who is the leader of your forces?"

Syaoran found that to be a simple question, but then he realized he knew not the answer. No one ever mentioned the leader of the nonbender forces. There was no public figure, like the Avatar to the benders, or, generations back, Amon of the nonbenders. There was nothing. And his father had always told him once a name can be put to something, there was no longer anything to fear.

The leader seemed to weigh his options before answering, eying Shun, Syaoran, Tiki, ZanYi, and each and every AK in the room. "And if I answer," he started slowly, looking only to ZanYi, "I will not be killed on the spot?"

"You will not, unless you lie to me."

This seemed satisfactory to him because then his shoulders dropped a bit. "No one knows his name," he said, and his eyes widened as the flames grew around ZanYi's fists.

"That's not good enough."

"Wait!" he halted her, watching as ZanYi pulled a fist back. "No one knows his _real_ name. But we call him WeiTai."

WeiTai? Tiki had never heard of such a name. It sounded like a name a formidable man would have, though…

Shun got to his feet with some difficulty; he stumbled a little, but managed to make his way over to ZanYi's side. He watched as the leader's eyes widened as he took in the large waterbender's full height. Sometimes it was good to be a giant.

"Think he's telling the truth?" he asked ZanYi, his eyes never leaving the man's face. ZanYi had threatened the man that she would show no mercy if he lied to her. In the dimness of his concussed mind, Shun wondered if she had some internal radar that allowed her to sense when others were not being truthful with her.

ZanYi's gaze filtered over the soldier's expression, his eyes, his body tension. She saw it all, absorbed it, and mulled over it. "I do," she told Shun, never leaving the eyes of their captive. ZanYi exhausted her hand and stepped back. Smirking, she added, "And if not, we'll find out soon enough."

Nodding to her soldiers, ZanYi allowed them to rush forward and break the stone manacles, only to cuff him themselves. "Take him and the others away to be shipped off to the POW camp," she ordered, and they did just that. The Agni-Kais scattered to obey their lieutenant's demands and she then turned to Shun, frowning. "You need to get checked out," ZanYi told him, eying his head wound.

Syaoran watched as she tugged the large man back over to the throne and gently shoved him back in the seat. He walked over to join them as the lieutenant sat herself on the arm of the throne, peering closely at Shun. The earthbender watched with the mild thought that Shun was a bit lucky. Then he was reminded that Shun got injured saving her from a bomb and of course deserved the uncharacteristic soft touch.

"How's it look?" he asked, coming closer to the pair. He knew Tiki was fine, as he'd had her back the entire fight. Neither of them were worse for wear. Jade green eyes of his scanned over the lieutenant, seeing the bits of blood that leaked through her jacket. "You should probably get checked out too, Lieutenant Tsong," Syaoran suggested.

However, the woman waved him off, gaze never leaving Shun's head. "Shrapnel can be dealt with later," she told him. Her hand moved to gently brush back some of Shun's fallen locks behind his ear, giving her a better view of the head injury. Syaoran found his stomach run foul at the sight of so much blood, but he could not bear to look away. A part of him supposed he should get used to it.

"This is Lieutenant Tsong," he heard her start speaking into her comm, still looking at Shun's injury intently. "The AKs have secured the palace. I repeat, we have secured the palace. POWs being sent your way and requesting a healer, stat. We've got a head injury in response to a bomb."

ZanYi undid her jacket, only to tear off a scrap of her underlying tee. With the shred of fabric, she gently applied it to Shun's head, doing her utmost best not to give him more pressure and pain than the wound required. "We need to get it to start clotting, unless you feel you're up to being able to heal yourself sufficiently," ZanYi told him, looking then to meet Shun's oceanic eyes.

"Mmm," Shun could only hum, his eyes glazing over. He was fighting to stay conscious, but the idea of sleep was so inviting, now that the fight was over… He blinked, attempting to focus on ZanYi. She looked troubled.

"Sorry to be so much trouble," he apologized meekly with an even meeker smile. They really should be celebrating their victory right now. If only he had absorbed the impact of the wall properly…

Another face appeared over ZanYi's shoulder; now Tiki was giving him an exaggerated look to the one ZanYi already wore.

"You're not allowed to die on us, Shun!" she declared, her voice fierce and scared. Shun couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"I'm not dying, Teeks," he assured the little airbender, "the room's just spinning a little… hey, since when have there been four of you, Teeks?"

Tiki looked alarmed for a brief moment before Shun laughed again.

"I'm only joking, Teeks, relax… I only see two of you…"

Tiki scowled now, not appreciating Shun's jokes. "That isn't funny," she informed him as she crossed her arms and glared at him. Shun's grin turned sheepish.

"Sorry, sorry," he apologized again, "I'm only trying to keep myself awake. It's bad for people with concussions to sleep, you know…"

Worried again, Tiki said, "Then I'll sing a song to help you stay awake!" With a slight clearing of her throat, the little airbender opened her mouth wide and began to sing in a loud, off-key voice, "I know a song that gets on EVERYBODY'S nerves! EVERBODY'S nerves! EVERBODY'S nerves! I know a song that gets on EVERYBODY'S nerves, and THIS is how it goes!"

Tiki drew another deep breath and repeated the refrain—or the whole, as it were—of the song, causing Shun to cringe. It was definitely certain that he could not fall asleep now, not with Tiki's obnoxious singing filling the chamber.

It took all of ZanYi's military discipline not to strike the small airbender where she sang. The last time she had heard such an awful sound was when one of her soldiers had gotten drunk and tried yodeling. So she grit her teeth, keeping focused on keeping the scrap of fabric on Shun's wound. She could feel the blood start to soak through and her eyes flickered to Shun's cringing face. It was uncertain whether it was the wound or Tiki's singing that was responsible.

Syaoran was guessing the singing. He had clapped his hands over his ears as the painful voice started to shriek. Yet, it still was not enough. And the Avatar did not have the abounding patience that Shun had or the self-control of his teacher. Coming up behind Tiki, he wrapped one arm around her to hold her down and put the other hand on her mouth, effectively silencing her. "Shun already got blown up," Syaoran chastised with a roll of his eyes. "He doesn't need to go deaf as well."

Tiki glared up at Syaoran as she struggled against his grip.

"Hrrm mrrrm!" was what was heard, by which Tiki meant, "How rude!" Her parents always assured her that she was a wonderful singer! Maybe Syaoran and ZanYi just could not appreciate her brand of talent?

ZanYi's muscles loosened a bit as Syaoran took care of Tiki's singing. "Thank-you," she told him, and Syaoran gave her a thumbs-up before she turned back to Shun. "The rest of us don't want to go deaf," ZanYi told him as she applied a bit more pressure to the wound regrettably, "so you're just going to have to keep talking to me, okay, Shun? Just stay with me."

The lieutenant put a hand to her earpiece, listening intentionally and purposefully to whatever was being said to her. It was with a nod that she yanked it out of her ear, letting it drop to hang around her neck. "They're sending a healer up to us. Sikka will be here soon, and she's the best we have aside from you." ZanYi took a deep breath, a small curl to the corner of her lips. "They were successful on the mountain as well. We've officially taken back Omashu."

Shun let out a comforted sigh. They had taken back the city of Omashu. It was a glorious day to be alive, even if the room was tilted peculiarly in his vision.

"That's great," he enthused with a grin, "I would have hated to have my skull cracked open in vain."

There were a pair of swift footsteps echoing down the hall towards the throne room, and a minute later, Sikka appeared, slightly out of breath. As she entered the room, her eyes searched for the injured person, and once they alighted on Shun, they widened.

"_You _were hurt?" she asked, incredulous. Shun spared her a sheepish grin.

"I know. Ironic, isn't it?"

"Very. Thank you, Lieutenant Tsong. I'll take it from here," Sikka assured ZanYi, removing the bloodied strip she held to Shun's head wound. Sikka had seen plenty worse in her line of work, but a small hiss still escaped her at the sight. "What in the world did you do?"

"I had a slight disagreement with one of the walls," Shun replied dryly. Sikka shook her head, but was smiling. Drawing water from the sack she carried everywhere, Sikka set to work closing the wound on Shun's head. As an added service, she managed to wash out most of the blood from his hair. "There we go. Feel better?"

The pain in Shun's head lessened, and he felt less dizzy. The large waterbender sighed in relief. "Much better," he agreed, looking up and giving a grateful smile to Sikka. "Thank you, Sikka."

The waterbending woman became rather pink in the face, and she dropped her gaze from him to look at her shoes. "No problem," she mumbled. Shun raised an eyebrow at Sikka's sudden change in behavior. She looked embarrassed, but as to why he could not fathom. Perhaps she was not used to being gratified for her healing skills?

Sikka quickly snapped out of it, however, and was all business once again a moment later. "Are there any more injuries that need attending to before I return?" she asked, critical eyes roving over the other three.

When her gaze reached Syaoran and Tiki, Syaoran replied for the both of them. "We're good," he assured her. His clothes were tattered and he was dirty, but that kind of came with the territory of being an earthbender. Syaoran leaned to look over Tiki, to verify her assumed state. He found her just like him and Syaoran nodded. "Yeah, we're okay," he said again.

But then his eyes drifted over to the lieutenant, still perched next to Shun and snickering. ZanYi found it amusing as to how Sikka had reacted to Shun's manners, musing as to how Ransik would react if he found out. However, her thoughts were cut short when Syaoran called her out. "But I think the lieutenant had a run-in with some shrapnel."

Sikka whirled to look over at ZanYi, scrutiny in her eyes. Then her gaze noticed the same blood spots that Syaoran had noticed and she frowned at the lieutenant. "Take off your jacket," the healer demanded instantly, marching over to the firebender in a motherly fashion. ZanYi groaned, but heeded the woman's demands, shooting a dirty look at Syaoran as she did so. Her arms were impeccably cut up by foreign objects, a singed burn on her side from the electrical prod. "Just what happened to you two?" Sikka asked, looking back to Shun before further analyzing ZanYi.

"We got blown up. Bomb." And ZanYi cursed herself for it. She knew something was wrong, and she'd walked them right into a bomb. Thankfully not many of her other AKs had been injured by that, since she and Shun had been at the head, but that did not excuse her actions.

Sikka took a deep breath before setting to work on the lieutenant, lips tight. "You know this is going to hurt when I pull these out?" she asked ZanYi.

"We've gone over this quite a few times, Sikka. You know how much I love shrapnel," the lieutenant quipped, entirely not looking forward to the next few minutes. It was sad to say that this had happened enough times that ZanYi was at least getting used to the fact that it was going to hurt. However, that did not make the pain any easier to bear.

Syaoran watched ZanYi's face scrunch up and her teeth grit impossibly tight as Sikka began to use her water and tug out the shrapnel from her skin as she healed each wound, drying and cleaning the blood. It then became no wonder why she'd given Syaoran such a look before; it was quite clear how much the lieutenant did not love shrapnel.

"I'm glad we didn't get hit by the bomb right about now," he muttered to Tiki. It looked downright painful between their two companions.

"Poor ZanYi," Tiki whispered back after managing to pull Syaoran's hand from her mouth. The lieutenant was, hands down, the toughest woman Tiki had ever met. But seeing her there, her face twisted in pain as Sikka took painstaking measures to heal her, Tiki could not help but pity ZanYi, just a little bit.

Shun felt even worse than Tiki did. True, he did his best to make sure ZanYi did not come to further harm after being caught by surprise by that bomb, but he had been too late to do anything against to the shrapnel that embedded itself into the lieutenant's skin. The sarcasm in her comment about loving shrapnel was made even more evident by the way she grit her teeth. Shun was very grateful that Sikka was here to heal the lieutenant—he was not sure he could stand to put ZanYi through any more pain.

"Here," the large waterbender found himself saying, reaching over and taking one of ZanYi's hands, his eyes finding hers. "Just squeeze when it hurts."

Shun had discovered this method of comfort when he was younger and his baby sister had to get shots for the first time. She had cried in fear all afternoon, and when the time came, Shun had taken her hand and instructed her to squeeze tight whenever it hurt. His sister clenched his hand tightly until it was over, and then informed him delightedly on their way home from the doctor that it had barely hurt at all. Since then, Shun believed that even a simple thing as holding someone's hand when they were in pain was all they needed to feel just a little bit better.

Sikka quirked a brow. Not many men dared to touch the lieutenant so familiarly, but it seemed that Shun had no qualms about doing so. Just who was this man, and why was he so sweet?

Tiki used Syaoran's hand to muffle her giggling. She had not missed the blush on Sikka's face earlier when Shun had smiled at her, and now he was holding ZanYi's hand. Was he aware of the potential havoc he was wreaking? Probably not, since he was a good-natured guy. But it was still rather amusing to watch.

Syaoran, however, did not find it nearly as amusing. He understood that Shun was trying to placate the lieutenant's pain—which she seemed to be going through a decent deal of. Shun was no doubt a great guy, just trying to help out. The Avatar, however, could only frown a little, disappointed with himself. Syaoran was too hesitant to even try to touch her shoulder, let alone her hand. Shun seemed to have a lot more bravery than he, and as a man, that hit low.

On the other hand, ZanYi managed to glance through her pain at Shun, finding those light blue eyes focused tight on her. She also found his hand around hers to be unnecessary, but at the present moment, she could not find the words to say so, since her teeth were grit tight to keep from crying out.

As Sikka pulled another piece out of her skin, ZanYi found herself gripping the throne arm and Shun's hand quite tight, clenching her eyes shut again. She didn't have the strain in her in that instance to pull away from the waterbender. So instead, she focused all of her effort into staying still so that Sikka could do her job.

Syaoran continued to watch as his teacher battled the pain she felt. Her face was one of concentration, of focus. By the look in her eyes alone, he would have thought she was blasting fireballs at him. "That is one tough woman," he muttered, watching as Sikka pulled out a particularly large scrap out of her arm. ZanYi's mouth opened to cry out, but she bit back quickly, remaining silent.

Eventually Sikka took a deep breath and smiled at her. "Okay, Lieutenant, that's all of the shrapnel," she announced for ZanYi's benefit. "Just got to heal up all of the scarring now."

ZanYi exhaled deeply, taking her time to let the air go slowly. "Aw, and here I thought the shrapnel would visit a bit longer this time," she finally managed to say, only wincing now as Sikka did her job.

"Just be thankful that your brother is not here," Sikka mentioned offhandedly. Her eyes drifted to her and Shun's grasped hands briefly before focusing her gaze back on all of the lieutenant's injuries. "You would think Sergeant Major Tsong had been the one to get hit, the way he acts."

ZanYi pushed through a smirk.

"Isn't that natural for siblings?" Shun suggested lightly as he glanced over at Sikka. "If it was my sister who was hurt, I would be pretty upset too."

Sikka spared him a glance, almost marveling at him. It was becoming clearer and clearer that his heart was just as large as the rest of him. But she almost smirked at the naivety of his words.

"You haven't seen Sergeant Major Tsong upset," she chided, "if you ever do, you'll understand what I'm talking about."

Shun turned a confused expression onto ZanYi. As a big brother himself, Shun could imagine all-too-clearly how he would feel if harm ever came to his little sister, or anyone else in his family, for that matter. But the way Sikka talked about it made it sound like Zaron's grief would be so much worse than any other big brother in the world… maybe it was because his sister was always risking herself as one of the higher officers of the military? Shun supposed Sikka was right: he wouldn't fully understand it unless he saw it for himself.

"Finished," Sikka finally said in satisfaction, and Shun released his hold on ZanYi's hand now that she did not need it anymore.

"Good job," Shun complimented the waterbending woman, viewing her nearly flawless work. Sikka blushed again, but otherwise shook off his compliment.

"I should go and report to Ransik," she said briskly; with a nod to the lieutenant, Sikka exited the throne room. After she was gone, Shun stood up slowly, testing his balance. He was still a bit groggy, but the room stayed where it should, at least. Becoming irritated with the long hair in his face, Shun tore off a piece of cloth from one of the sleeves squeezing his bicep and held the fabric between his teeth as he gathered his wayward hair into his hands.

"Should we be reporting to anyone, Lieutenant?" he asked once he had successfully tied his hair back, looking expectantly to ZanYi for their next instructions.

ZanYi rose to her feet, feeling quite a load better than she had previously. There was no more inhibition to her arms and the pain was almost gone, just a mere tickle in comparison. "We have no one to report to," she told the waterbender. "I will have to send a report in to General Chen by tonight, but you all have no such obligation, so when we return to the camp, you all will be given the rest of the day off to rest." However, she did not mention the most important report she'd have to give: the one to her brother. Sikka was not exaggerating when she had announced his protectiveness.

She moved out to the hall, seeing the morning sun had risen, bringing a clean, new day. It almost felt as if it had brought the victory with it, though that was just poetic thought. ZanYi turned to the trio that was left standing there with her. "Syaoran," she called out, and the young man looked back, waiting on her every word, "If you are feeling rested by the afternoon, then we will continue your training then. There will be no training with the AKs today, in lieu of this morning's combat."

Syaoran was thankful for that, certainly. While his mind was racing ever still from the battle, his eyes were then growing weary, tired. He nodded to her, acknowledging this premise before he followed after her. Turning, he motioned to Tiki. "Let's go," he told her, feeling that if she didn't hurry, the lieutenant would quite accidentally—or perhaps purposefully—leave her behind in the palace.

Tiki hurried to scurry after Syaoran, but not before grabbing Shun's arm and pulling him along after her.

"If you feel dizzy, just let me know, okay?" she assured him, "you can lean on me until we get to base!"

Shun chuckled at this suggestion. "Tiki, if I were to lean on you, I'd squash you flat," he pointed out, popping Tiki's helpful bubble. Before she could pout about it, however, he said, "There is something you can do for me once we get back to the base, though…"

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**A/N from DJ: Oh dear! What is this favor that Shun is asking? Guess you've got to wait a week xD On another note, thanks again for coming out and reading! Things are moving, developing, and getting messy. Then again, with any Team Avatar, when are things not messy? Now, let us move on out to our shout-outs!**

**R.A.T.G: Ah ha! Always the first reviewer xD We love responding to our readers, no joke. It's always fun to have feedback and wit~ So ship away, ship away! You must not be dictated what we say! I'm such a rhyme master xD I hope you enjoyed the action again!  
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**Japaneserockerchick: It's okay! Eva and I have been known to avoid our workloads for the sake of writing this, so you're the same as we are! Just don't let it get out of hand like we did sometimes xP Shun has lots of trials ahead of him, I'll give you that. He's trying though! Him and his helpful self~ And again, I shalt not say what is becoming of our characters! xD However, you may ship characters as you please~  
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	11. The Brother

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire**

**By Twins of the Pen**

******Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

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Tiki was wearing a rather sour look on her face, watching Shun as he slept. If she had known the favor he was asking her for would be so boring, she probably would have refused. But then she admonished herself for thinking that way; someone had to make sure to wake Shun up every couple of hours to make sure he was okay. Exhausting though their early morning battle was, Shun was still concussed, and would have to be checked on regularly.

Tiki let out a gusty sigh. This was _boring_. Syaoran had left to go get ready for his afternoon practice with ZanYi, Lili had taken off on foot as soon as she was unbound from her master to parts unknown of the camp, (Tiki had made sure the lemur would not fly away again by binding Lili's wings to her arms with ribbons. It was a little harsh, but Tiki was too paranoid to let her out into the open sky by herself again), and ZanYi was off who-knew-where reporting or giving orders or something. Either way, Tiki was quite alone with the slumbering Shun who, she realized, did not snore. She found this odd, since he seemed like the snoring type of guy.

Tiki had already finished her morning meditation, and it was nearing the afternoon when she decided to prod Shun awake again.

"Shun?" Tiki sang as she pinched one of his cheeks, "Come on, Shun, get up already. You're gonna miss lunch!"

Shun groaned, throwing an arm over his eyes as he groaned, "Quit it, Nyla."

Tiki blinked. "Who?" she asked curiously. Slowly, Shun moved his arm so he could peer blearily over at her. He seemed surprised to find her there.

"Oh, hey, Teeks," he greeted as he sat up slowly, being careful not to overdo it. He should move his head slowly. "Is it time for me to get up again?"

"Who's Nyla?" Tiki asked, ignoring his question in favor of her own. Shun looked over at her in shock.

"What?"

"You called me Nyla," Tiki prompted, "Who's Nyla?"

Shun did not answer right away. He looked away from Tiki, propping an arm up over his knee and staring off into space. Tiki counted to fifty in her head before he answered.

"My sister," he explained, reaching up to touch the wolf's fang that hung around his neck. "I must have been dreaming about her if I called you by her name… I haven't seen her since she was four."

The loneliness in Shun's tone affected Tiki; she curled up into a ball, her chin resting on her knees as she watched him. So he had a younger sibling… that must have been nice. If her parents hadn't been captured when she was young, would Tiki be an older sister by now?

"So you have a little sister?" she asked delicately, not wishing to upset him further. But Shun didn't seem to mind her asking about his family, if his smile was any indication.

"And two older brothers," he told her, "though Nyla's probably not so little anymore. She's about a year younger than you."

Tiki imagined a girl about her age with the same eyes and smile as Shun, and she smiled. "What about your brothers?"

"Kohaku should be in his thirties by now, he's the eldest," Shun answered, his eyes far away as he rubbed his stubbly chin, "and Jin should be… twenty-eight? No, twenty-seven; he's only four years older than me."

Tiki did some quick mental math, and then she gaped at Shun. "You're only twenty-three?!" she gasped in shock. "_You _look like you're in your thirties!"

"Ouch, Teeks," Shun mumbled, wincing as if her blow to his pride was physical. "Are you saying I look old?"

"I'm saying you're too big to be so young!" Tiki corrected him. Shun chuckled; truthfully, this was not the first time he had received such a reaction. It was just so much funnier because it was Tiki.

"You're only twenty-three?" came Syaoran's inquisitive voice as he walked into the room, baffled and bewildered. His green gaze looked over the man, as if trying to fetter out whether that statement was true or not. Shun just looked so much larger, and acted so wise. It was difficult to grasp that he was so close to their age.

This also meant he was very close to the lieutenant in age. Syaoran frowned a little as he sat on his cot. After returning to the camp, they had been given their quarters back, and thankfully it seemed it had not been ransacked. Apparently their escape had been diversion enough.

"Tiki," he said, looking to the small airbender with a quirked eyebrow, "why are you bothering Shun? He should be resting right now."

"I asked her to," Shun admitted before Tiki could retort, "I read somewhere that it's not good for someone with a concussion to sleep too long for the first twenty-four hours… but since I've never had a concussion before, I'm not exactly sure how to go about it. So better safe than sorry, right?"

"See, I'm not bothering him, I'm helping him!" Tiki burst out indignantly, pouting at Syaoran before getting to her feet. "I'm gonna go get you some lunch, okay, Shun? Just stay right there." And Tiki marched out of the room, as if determined to prove that she was being more of a help than a hindrance.

"Thanks, Teeks," Shun called after the little airbender before settling back down onto his pillow, his arm crossed behind his head. Was it that surprising that he was only twenty-three years old? Shun wondered briefly if he should feel self-conscious about this before shrugging the musings away and closing his eyes.

"I'll probably be missing your training this afternoon, Syaoran," the large waterbender informed the Avatar, his eyes still closed. "Just wake me up later when you need healing, and I'll fix you right up. And convince ZanYi to do the same please. You know how she gets."

The corners of Shun's mouth twisted upwards as he said this, as if amused by the stubborn behavior ZanYi tended to exhibit which required him to persuade her into being healed. It was a fine line the lieutenant walked, between being proud and being wise.

Syaoran knew exactly what Shun meant by that. And while he was tempted to say that the lieutenant could easily be healed by someone else, he decided against it. Shun was their comrade, their teammate. The large man had everyone's backs, including his. Including the lieutenant's.

"Ugh, how do you do it?" he managed to ask out loud before realizing what he had said. Syaoran realized as such and smacked his forehead, his cheeks becoming a little pink. He sighed. There was no way to get out of this one now; he was far too honest to be able to think of a sufficient lie quickly.

Looking at the large waterbender, his eyes glowed with curiosity, but green in more ways than one. "How do you manage to stay on such good terms with her now?" Lieutenant Tsong had hated his guts only just a few days before. "You're one of the only people I've seen here that manage to call her by her first name and get away with it. And she actually _talks _to you."

ZanYi didn't scold Shun for messing up his firebending forms, didn't try to protect him like he was a small child. And she kicked up no fuss at all when he touched her. Something Syaoran had noticed around the military, aside from nobody calling her by her first name, was that no one, aside from perhaps her brother or Ransik, touched her even in a friendly manner. It was almost eerie, like an unspoken code. Or perhaps they were all just too hesitant, like he was.

Shun had opened his eyes and turned to look at Syaoran as he was speaking. The Avatar looked more flustered than Shun had ever seen him, and the large waterbender worked hard to keep amusement off his face, for he was sure that Syaoran would not appreciate being laughed at. But had the Avatar finally realized his feelings for his firebending teacher? Shun had thought Syaoran was being quite obvious, but maybe it was only Shun who thought so. Tiki hadn't seemed to notice anything; it would have been the first thing she wanted to gossip about with him, Shun was sure.

The large waterbender sat up and turned to face Syaoran, mulling over the younger man's questions. The honest truth of the matter was that Shun never really thought about any of those things. Once he figured out what made ZanYi tick, the rest was relatively easy to figure out. But maybe it wasn't so simple to others? Shun rubbed his stubbly chin, trying to figure out how to best phrase his advice in order to help Syaoran out. The Avatar must be at a loss if he was coming to Shun for advice.

"I think the thing people forget the most about ZanYi," he began, feeling out his words before he said them, "is that she's human. Yes, she is the hardworking Lieutenant Tsong who works harder than anyone to make sure the Resistance will win this war. But she is also ZanYi, a proud, stubborn, remarkable person. But still just a person, just like you and me. I think, once you learn to start making the distinction, that you'll find socializing with her a lot easier. Oh, and you have an advantage because you can learn from my mistake: never tell ZanYi what she can and can't do. Just try and support her decisions, because she always knows what she's doing. I had to learn that the hard way."

Shun allowed himself a knowing smirk as he met Syaoran's eyes. "Good luck, Avatar."

"Lunch!" Tiki announced a moment later, carrying a tray laden with food. In the celebration of taking back Omashu, the cook had really outdone himself. But the trays were heavy, so Tiki was making them hover with her bending, and she air-ferried Shun's tray to him.

"Thanks, Teeks," Shun thanked the little airbender, and she beamed in response. Shun's glance in Syaoran's direction was meaningful as he took the first bite of his lunch. "Don't you have training to get to, Avatar?"

Syaoran pondered over Shun's words as he nodded and bid them well before exiting the room. What the man had said made logical sense, but Syaoran was having a difficult time understanding it. There was always more to people than meet's the eye. However his teacher lived and breathed the military; being the Lieutenant _was_her identity. She made that quite clear in every action and decision she made. Even the qualities Shun had listed about her were what made her such an efficient leader.

Walking out of the building, he took a deep breath. Despite not fully understanding, Syaoran was going to try and heed his teammate's words. And trying to treat Lieutenant ZanYi Tsong like an average person was going to be a brave, and perhaps foolhardy challenge.

He saw her out in the distance and allowed a determined set to take over his face. Walking ever closer, the Avatar was about to call out her name when he realized what she was doing.

Hearing the footsteps falter and stop behind her, ZanYi turned away from her brother to find Syaoran. "Good, you're here. Are you ready for your training?" she asked him. She could only gauge from the resilient look in his eyes that he was. However, Zaron held up a halting hand.

"You're still holding training today?" he asked, looking to his sister as if she was a few cabbages short of a cabbage merchant. And Syaoran could understand the line of questioning. After all, she had just helped lead an invasion to take back the city, been in briefings since, and now was going to hold private training for the Avatar, all under a less than mediocre night's rest.

ZanYi matched the sergeant major's gaze with one of indifference. "Yes, I am. I am his firebending teacher, in case you've forgotten," she reminded him. Zaron gave her a look that quite plainly said that he had not forgotten. And then the older brother turned a look onto Syaoran that reminded the earthbender quite quickly why the man had gotten his ranking. The look was sharp, as if he were sizing Syaoran up.

"Well, I'm sure the Avatar would benefit from having two firebenders in today's training, wouldn't you say?" Zaron suggested, and Syaoran couldn't smother the urge to gulp. He thought that sounded like a frightening idea, and was not reassured that, as she looked between the two males, ZanYi began to smirk.

"I'll allow that today," she permitted confidently, and Zaron began to smirk at the Avatar as well. The two of them wore twin expressions and all of the confidence Syaoran had just had burst into flames. Everything he needed to know was in those paired sets of amber eyes. This training session was not going to go like he had planned.

Syaoran knew he was going to become a crispy critter just by the expression on Zaron's face when he said, "Let's get started then."

* * *

"Never again…"

Those were the words he uttered as Syaoran stumbled through the hallway. He smelled smoke, and he knew it was himself. He probably looked just as bad as he had after the battle that early morning. His clothes were tattered, and he was certain part of his hair was probably singed, but Syaoran knew he was probably due for a hair cut anyway. And surprisingly, he wasn't incredibly burnt himself. He scoffed. Syaoran wasn't a crispy critter; he just resembled one.

Meandering into the room they occupied, he sat down heavily on his cot, levying a steady look over at Shun and his cot. "Don't ever tell me the lieutenant is just a person again. She is anything _but_ that." And that was heavily apparent throughout the past couple hours of training with both Tsongs.

Shun sat upright when he caught sight of Syaoran, the book he was reading lay forgotten in his lap.

"What happened to you?" he asked, almost fearing the answer. Was Syaoran's singed appearance Shun's fault, after giving what he deemed to be suitable advice to the Avatar? A wave of guilt washed over the large waterbender, and he got up to approach Syaoran. "She didn't burn you too bad, did she? Let's have a look."

As Shun bent over Syaoran with his canteen at the ready, a new voice floated through the room.

"Oh, Syaoran, you're back from training?"

Shun glanced over to find Tiki striding in, wearing nothing but a towel with Lili in her arms. The little airbender's long brown hair was down and dripping wet; she had obviously just finished bathing. As Tiki moved over to her cot, she got a better view of Syaoran, and her jaw dropped.

"What did she do, barbecue you over a roast pit?!" Tiki exclaimed, taking in Syaoran's appearance with a horrified look. Shun chuckled.

"Rather than worrying about what Syaoran looks like, you should worry about your own appearance, Teeks. You do realize you're only wearing a towel in a room with two men?" he pointed out. Tiki stuck her tongue out at him, but her cheeks became rather rosy as well. She set Lili down on her cot—the lemur proceeded to shake herself dry—before snagging a pair of shorts and a tank top from a pile of clean laundry she was given.

"Fine, I'm going to change, then," Tiki announced, stepping behind an old folding screen that happened to be in the room. "Don't look!" she warned Syaoran and Shun sternly, poking her head out for a brief moment before disappearing behind the folding screen again.

"We'll try and resist," Shun joked, grinning as he returned his attention to Syaoran's wounds. Surprisingly, there weren't too many burns on the Avatar. "You must have done well today, Syaoran."

Tiki emerged from the folding screen a second later. The tank top was a little big on her, but she didn't seem to mind as she climbed onto her cot, patting Lili's head before reaching for a brush she had borrowed. She began to brush through her long hair, closing her eyes and smiling serenely. This familiar ritual almost made her believe she was back home with her mother, taking turns to brush out each other's hair. It made her feel almost… normal.

Shun, already finished healing Syaoran, smiled at the content on Tiki's face.

"This is the first time I've seen you with your hair down, Teeks," he commented as he went back to his cot and picked up his book. "It's longer than I thought."

"I've never cut it," Tiki announced proudly. "After all, a girl's hair is her pride and joy."

"I'm not so sure that applies to all women," Shun disagreed, thinking of ZanYi and her shoulder-length raven hair.

Syaoran shook his head, disagreeing as well. There was no way that the lieutenant's hair was her pride and joy in his book. "The lieutenant's only pride and joy seems to be firebending, and with good reason," he told Tiki before looking back to Shun, "and the only reason I'm not burned as bad as I look is because she had mercy on me."

Once the waterbender was done healing him, Syaoran stripped of his shirt, tired of the ashy smell it was giving off. Training had been just as awful as he had feared it would be. He suddenly had a new understanding and appreciation for all of the soldiers who worked with Lieutenant Tsong. "The sergeant major joined us for training today," he told them, looking meaningfully at Shun. He'd asked for advice, and then he couldn't even implement it because of that big wrench in the plan.

Shun nodded, picking up on the Avatar's hint. No wonder he looked so defeated...and Shun was thinking he had gotten Syaoran in trouble instead. He hadn't accounted for Zaron at all.

Rubbing a hand against his brown hair, Syaoran was finding bits of it shorter than he'd last recalled; that was due to Zaron's fireballs. "The lieutenant spent half of the training just trying to make sure he didn't scorch me to bits." The Avatar then looked to Tiki, eyeing as she peacefully brushed her hair, looking as dainty as ever. "You must have a thing for aggression if you're crushing on him."

"Hopefully his participation in your training was just a one time thing," Shun said, trying to get Syaoran to look on the bright side. Shun had never actually seen Zaron fight, but he sensed that the sergeant major was every bit as fierce as his lieutenant sister, if not more.

Tiki stuck her nose in the air at Syaoran's comment.

"You wouldn't understand a sophisticated man like Zaron," said Tiki, conveniently ignoring the fact that she knew next to nothing about Zaron herself. "The fact that he is able to defend himself—and well—makes him all the more desirable. It's like he's a warrior, dedicated to protecting his princess until his dying breath!" Tiki sighed a love-struck sigh and actually swooned on her cot. Shun slapped a hand over his mouth to keep his laughter from erupting, his whole body shaking from the effort.

"Ah, but Syaoran, you should watch what you say," the large waterbender chimed in, giving the Avatar a teasing grin. "After all, it would be embarrassing if your words were turned around on you, wouldn't it?"

Tiki looked back and forward between the two men, confused at the direction the conversation had taken. "Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, clueless. Shun merely smiled.

"Nothing you should worry about, Teeks," he assured her, returning to his book.

"Aw c'mon, tell me!" the little airbender pouted. Shun's grin widened, but he refused to say another word.

Syaoran gave a mystified look at Tiki, still reeling from the fact that she had just swooned. Swooned! How women would swoon over such a ferocious fighter as Sergeant Major Tsong was beyond him. Ignoring that Shun had almost just given him away, Syaoran looked squarely at Tiki. "The only princess that man is going to protect would be the lieutenant," he told her flatly. The man had practically scowled every time he shot a fireball at her. "They're probably still debating about whether she should be allowing me to fire at her with everything I've got."

"Which she should not be doing," came a foreign voice and Syaoran winced. Looking slowly to the doorframe, he found Zaron lazily resting an arm on it as he leaned in to the room. ZanYi came up beside him, leaning her body on the other side of the frame. She quirked a challenging brow to Syaoran—the very same look Zaron was giving her at that moment.

"Call me 'princess' one more time," she provoked him, her jaw twitching. Syaoran did indeed visibly gulp at that. He had not meant for either of them to hear their conversation, but it seemed as if he was going to be in more trouble with the lieutenant at that moment. It did suddenly strike him, however, that had their kingdom not have become a republic, the woman and her brother would be the princess and prince of the Fire Nation, one of them possibly the Fire Lord.

Syaoran gulped again.

Turning away from him, ZanYi addressed her brother with the same gaze. "You can go away now."

Staring just as persistently at her, Zaron did not budge. "Not until you get those burns healed."

"You're obnoxious."

"And you're taking risks you shouldn't in training."

ZanYi openly rolled her eyes, which seemed to have no effect on Zaron. Looking to Shun as she sat down on her cot, she stripped of her jacket, revealing a set of burns on her arms, no worse than average from their training session. "Mind getting rid of these so the sergeant major can return to his own quarters?" she asked of the waterbender.

"Sure," Shun agreed, moving to sit next to ZanYi. He took her left wrist with one hand and weaved water around her arm with the other, touching her as delicately as he always did. Looking up for a brief moment, Shun shot a grin at Zaron. "Nice to see you, Sergeant Major." The large waterbender wasn't exactly sure how much of their conversation the Tsong siblings had heard, but he felt it was best to play it casual… for Syaoran's sake, at least.

"Likewise," he responded to Shun, watching the man's hands intently as they worked over his sister's arm. If Syaoran did not know better, it was almost as if the firebender was watching to ensure the healer was doing his job right. However, after training the with two of them, it seemed more likely that the sergeant major was watching to make sure Shun's hands stayed on his sister's arm.

"Zaron!" Tiki had cried out joyously, flinging her brush to the side—it nearly hit Syaoran—and leaping off her cot. She was about to run in slow motion towards the man of her dreams when a sudden chill around one of her ankles stayed her. Tiki looked down and gasped in outrage: one of her ankles had been frozen to one of the legs of her cot. "Shun!" she raged, her gray orbs glaring at the large waterbender.

"Sorry, Teeks. My hand slipped," he explained without looking at her, although his grin was a little more devious than usual. Tiki glared harder, suddenly wishing she could firebend with looks alone.

'_Slipped?! Yeah right!_' How dare Shun keep her away from her soulmate? He really wasn't being fair at all.

Zaron was thankful again for Shun, feeling as though the waterbender had chained back a rabid beast. Briefly, Zaron's critical eye grazed over Syaoran, and his brow quirked, just as his sister's would. And the Avatar was not entirely sure why. Until he realized he was still not wearing a shirt. "Um, I think I'm going to go take a shower now," Syaoran noted uncomfortably, gathering a fresh pair of clothes to take with him. The sergeant major watched him carefully as Syaoran shuffled past him to head down the hall to the showers.

ZanYi let out an aggravated sound, tilting her head up to look at her brother. "Enough. You already picked on him enough during training today," she chastised, and her brother only smirked back.

"He's the Avatar. Gotta buck up a little bit." Zaron looked to Shun again, only with the puzzled eyes that he had given the man back in the tunnels. ZanYi ignored it flat-out. "Is this normal for after training?" he asked the waterbender mildly. ZanYi could not tell whether he meant the burns or Shun's healing.

"Yes, this is all normal," she answered in Shun's stead. Her brother was starting to grate upon her. So ZanYi turned to the little airbender in the room. "Hey, Tiki, I'm sure the my brother would love to hear your singing voice."

Tiki, who had been struggling pointlessly against the icy shackle around her ankle, brightened up at ZanYi's suggestion.

"Really? Then I'll sing a love song!" Tiki announced, giving a fussy little cough before belting out, "Oh, Zaron, you're so fine! You're so fine, you blow my mind, hey, Zaron! Hey, hey! Hey, Zaron! Hey, hey!"

Shun would have laughed if Tiki's singing wasn't so horrible. As he moved to attend to ZanYi's other arm, he gave her a martyred expression.

"Why would you do that? I thought you loved your brother," he chastised her, wincing as Tiki's voice reverberated around the room. His focus wasn't going to hold very long under this condition. Hopefully Tiki would stop soon… though it was a very risky bet that she would.

ZanYi was cringing as well at the sound, but it was exactly what she had hoped for. Between the audacious sounds and the horrific lyrics, Zaron even found himself dying a little on the inside with each and every moment. He glared at his sister, knowing exactly what she had just done.

He held his hands up briefly in surrender and then left the room, not missing the sneer on ZanYi's lips. As soon as she was sure Zaron was gone, she turned to Tiki. With the hand Shun was not currently holding, she swiped a blade of fire to Tiki's feet, melting the ice at her feet. "If you hurry, Tiki, you can probably still catch him."

This should teach her brother to stop intruding. Normally he was pretty good about giving her space, but either because she had a new team, or because of post-combat jitters, Zaron was worse than usual. ZanYi was just giving him a reminder why she was the one in Special Forces—and why not to trifle with her.

Shun stared in disbelief at ZanYi as Tiki skipped happily out of the room, now belting out at the top of her lungs, "And IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII will always LOOOOOOOOOOVE YOOOOOOOOOOOUUUU~~~!" Her voice eventually, mercifully, faded away, and Shun was able to resume his work, shaking his head.

"I can't decide if you're mischievous or just plain evil," he told her, looking both amused and horrified. "She won't give him a moment's peace tonight. You understand that, right?"

After he was done with ZanYi's right arm, Shun gave her a once over. There were still scars littering her collarbone and stomach; he never had a chance to heal them after their narrow escape the other night. Without asking, Shun moved to kneel down in front of ZanYi, his water-veiled fingers lightly tracing over the scars on ZanYi's collarbone, healing them. Strangely, the large waterbender was acutely aware of the fact that he was alone with ZanYi. He couldn't fathom why this fact was being brought to his attention—he had been alone with ZanYi plenty of times before. Why should now be any different?

Shun's thoughts flitted to Syaoran for a moment, and he thought of an answer: now that the younger boy had confided his feelings for the lieutenant to him, Shun was feeling almost… guilty. But he was just doing his job. Why should he feel guilty that he was touching ZanYi? It was part of his job and he couldn't help it. Still, the worrisome feeling wouldn't go away. The large waterbender pushed it to the back of his mind to deal with later. The task at hand required all of his full concentration, because ZanYi's faded scars took a lot more to heal than fresh burns.

"He's just worried about you, you know?" Shun finished his thought softly, returning to the subject matter he was discussing: Zaron. As he looked up, Shun was mildly surprised to find that his face was quite close to ZanYi's. Hastily, he dropped his gaze back to his work. "You can understand what that's like, right?"

"I know exactly what that's like," she answered Shun quite confidently. And the man knew that for a fact by this point. Then again, that was probably what prompted the question. "Doesn't make being overbearing excusable though. He's just taking advantage of the fact that you all are new here." What her brother lacked in technique and precision, he made up for in passion. It was that drive, that conviction that made him a leader to his unit.

Despite their shared proximity, ZanYi felt herself go a little cold. There were parts of her that went physically cold, like the faded scarring that Shun continued to work on. And there were other parts that went cold on their own, like her spirit. It was if the fighting fire in her had been extinguished. Exhaustion started to take over, allowing her to loosen up further.

"Besides, the time to worry about trivial things has come and gone," she continued softly. Unlike her at the time, her brother had known exactly what he was signing up for when he went into the military. He'd known she would be tossed from place to place, known he would not be there all the time. And while their relationship was close and intense, there were some things that even time could not fix.

Now that her brother was gone, the closeness of her and Shun no longer even registered to her. It meant nothing, and therefore it did not matter. He was just doing his job, a job that required closeness and touch.

Something in ZanYi's tone made Shun glance up and meet her eyes once more. Though her golden irises had darkened from some unknown emotion, the rest of her face gave nothing away, and her words were cryptic. Shun could only guess at their meaning. He felt like he should say something to comfort her, but for once, words failed him. So instead he kept silent and kept working.

Most of the scars on ZanYi's collarbone were gone. There were still one or two marks left that, though Shun tried his hardest, he could not budge them. Frowning as if he meant to intimidate the scars, Shun vowed to come back later and instead moved on to ZanYi's abdomen. There were lots of angry marks here too, and Shun sighed as he set to work on them.

"I sure have my work cut out for me," he mumbled to himself, fingers roving over the flesh of ZanYi's stomach. He hoped she wasn't ticklish—though he sincerely doubted it—otherwise this part of the healing job was going to be very troublesome for the both of them.

However, ZanYi was not ticklish, and therefore she had no problem as Shun's fingers did their work, slowly healing the several scars that stretched across her stomach. Surveying her collarbone, she found that even he could not completely erase some of the scars. "You really do. Good luck," she agreed with him.

With brightened vigor, she recalled with realization that she had news to share with Shun. "I almost forgot," she mumbled, fishing through her pockets, trying her best not to move her core so that she wouldn't disrupt the healing. Out of one of her pockets, she pulled out a grenade, the symbol of the aged Fire Nation emblazoned over an Equalist symbol. "We won, tied, apparently," she told him, dangling it in front of him. Knowing the reaction she would get, she added, "Don't worry, it's dead."

Therefore when she tossed over onto Shun's bed, ZanYi knew it would not go off. Her team had taken great care to disarm it a long time ago. "The Agni-Kais hold a competition every time we go into combat," the lieutenant started to explain, "and the winner is whoever is voted to have sustained the most injuries and live through it. Apparently we tied. Getting blown up gave us bonus points."

ZanYi snickered. It had been quite a while since the last time she had been gifted with the 'award'. Her and Shun had managed to dethrone one of her more scar-prone soldiers.

Shun did not laugh. Rather, he turned to stare incredulously at the so-called 'award' he and ZanYi had apparently tied for. Why would they have an award system like that?

"I sincerely hope that award is meant to be ironic," he grumbled, turning back to his task, the frown still prominent on his face and looking very out of place, since he was more prone to smiling. '_If that award isn't ironic, the AKs have a very sick sense of humor._' Shun kept that particular criticism to himself, knowing that ZanYi would have his head if he said one negative word about her unit out loud. But how could they find that amusing? He didn't… but it was perhaps because he was a compassionate healer that he was not able to chuckle along with ZanYi at the joke.

Not that she had expected him to find it amusing, though. ZanYi figured the healer would not. However, she did notice the severe frown on his face. Even Tiki did not manage to put that on him, and the lieutenant assumed the girl would be able to make anyone do so.

"It's not an ironic award," ZanYi told him. While it had sounded quite odd to her at first, after a while it had grown on her as well. Then again, she probably had not found it humorous at first because she was the first recipient. But either way, it was difficult to explain such a thing to what her AKs would consider an outsider.

"Think of it as an encouragement award," she started to explain, weighing each word as she spoke. "When you come out of there, sometimes you're barely breathing. Sometimes, if it's bad enough, the pain is so bad you just want to get put out of your misery already."

ZanYi knew she'd had a handful of those herself. Combat was no vacation. "That award right there," she continued, nodding her head in its direction, as it rested on Shun's bed, "reminds the AKs what they're fighting for, reminds them that they managed to keep fighting and stay alive, even at the worst. It's their way of showing support to each other."

Shun paused in his healing of a particularly stubborn scar above ZanYi's belly button to think on what she said. Now that he understood the true meaning behind the award, his frown lessened, his expression becoming thoughtful. Although the humor was still a little twisted to him, he could understand how such a silly-sounding award could be a sign of support for those who become badly injured on the battlefield. And if he and ZanYi had been the ones to win such an award, he supposed he could assume that there had not been any injuries that were worse than theirs. Being concussed was no picnic, but it wasn't that big of a deal either. Personally, the large waterbender thought that ZanYi should keep the award, what with her having to deal with shrapnel and all.

"Then, I'm honored… I guess," he added uncertainly. He didn't fully get it, but he did understand that the AKs were showing him and their lieutenant support, and that was the part that touched him. He finished healing the scarring on ZanYi's stomach and nodded. They had been easier to take care of; the scars that still remained on ZanYi's collarbone leered at him, mocking him. He tried not to pay them too much attention.

"Okay. Let's take care of the scars left on your back and—!" Shun was forced to cut the rest of his sentence off: one of his feet had got caught on the other as he was standing up.

His weight was used as negative momentum, and before he knew it, the large waterbender was toppling over. ZanYi did not have enough time to get out of the way, and Shun fell on top of her, pinning her to the cot. He kicked his legs free of each other, let out a heavy sigh, and then pushed himself up, looking down at the lieutenant with a mortified expression.

"I'm sorry," he apologized heavily, "I'm not usually this clumsy, I swear."

What was happening to him? This was the second time he had run into ZanYi in the past twenty-four hours. If he wasn't careful, he was going to end up squashing the poor girl.

ZanYi was about to wave it off with another jab at his size, but the words remained her throat as she saw past the man to the doorframe. And the sight was enough to make her growl unpleasantly instead. "He's not usually that clumsy, I swear," she repeated matter-of-factly.

One of the worst possible witnesses stood in the jam: Zaron. To make matters worse, he had Tiki tucked under his arm. The lieutenant supposed he'd been attempting to carry her back and leave her out of his hearing range when he'd walked in. The older firebender glowered at the back of Shun's head, saying nothing at first.

Tiki watched the scene unfold, her eyes wide. She had been blissful a moment before, being carried by her so-called hero, even if it looked as if she was being lugged around like a traveling bag. But when she and Zaron witnessed Shun on top of ZanYi back in Team Avatar's room, Tiki quite forgot her own romance and started focusing on the potential romance between Shun and ZanYi.

"Jeez, get a room, you two!" she had called before Zaron set her down on her cot and she had caught sight of the murderous look he wore. Now she wished she had never said anything at all.

ZanYi stood up, giving Zaron the same look that he was giving Shun.

"See my lack of scars?" she inquired, gesturing to her abdomen and collarbone. "He was healing them and tripped over his two big feet. Besides, we have gone over this—"

"Enough."

She frowned further at him as he cut her off. Zaron dropped Tiki on the nearest cot and stood in front of his sister, glaring down at her. ZanYi did the same right back. "Shun," he eventually said, his eyes never leaving the lieutenant's, "may I speak with you in the hall?"

Shun took one look at the expression on Zaron's face and heaved a sigh. He could already tell this was going to go as well as the time he had confronted ZanYi about taking the Avatar to Omashu. It seemed as if, when he wasn't in trouble with one of the Tsong siblings, he was in trouble with the other. Still, there was nothing to be done now. Shun had to face the music.

"Sure," he agreed, making sure his canteen was still strapped to him as he stood up and passed the siblings to head out into the hall. Tiki, with a frightened look at the glaring siblings, darted out after Shun.

"Shun, what were you thinking?" she asked, misinterpreting the situation. "Zaron's gonna kill you!"

"Go back inside the room, Tiki," Shun asserted, frowning down at the little airbender. "This is between me and the sergeant major."

"But!"

"I'm guilty of nothing but my clumsiness," he assured her, "and I will tell Zaron as much. Now go back in the room."

Tiki gave him another fearful glance, but she did as she was told. She, as well as Shun, suspected that, though Zaron had asked to speak to the large waterbender, not much talking would be done. Silently, she wished Shun luck. She liked Zaron, but she wouldn't like him too much if he ended up scorching Shun to a crisp.

When she came back into the room, she watched as Zaron continued to stare down at ZanYi, as if the two were fighting their own battle wordlessly. When he turned to go out into the hall, she grabbed his arm, halting his departure. "Zaron," she stopped him her voice hard, "do not blow this up into something it isn't." He tried to shrug her off, but ZanYi's grip only got tighter around his elbow.

"This is between me and the waterbender," Zaron told her, using his other hand to shove off his sister's grasp. She not perturbed. ZanYi moved completely into his way this time, eyes narrowed up at him.

"No, it is not," she disagreed. "You don't know anything and you're not listening."

"Let me take care of this."

"No." ZanYi stood up even straighter, refusing to move from his path. "You have no part in this. It's none of your business and you are not my father." The last biting words yielded Zaron and for a brief moment, a deep hurt resonated on his face. ZanYi's, on the other hand, did not change. "You missed that chance. So don't even try to pretend like it."

There was silence, anger, and hurt. In the end, Zaron pushed past ZanYi and Tiki as she came back into the room. Charging down the hall, he looked at Shun heavily, as if he were a moving target. When he stopped before the waterbender, it mattered not what his size was. His fists were tight and clenched at his sides. "Just what do you think you were doing to my sister?" he spat out lowly.

"Absolutely nothing," Shun replied, his tone calm but full of conviction. He had done nothing wrong. There was no reason for him to feel guilty. "It was an accident. I was kneeling down, healing ZanYi's scars. When I made to stand up, I was tripped up by my own two feet, and I fell. I was in the process of moving when you walked in."

Shun glanced down and saw that the sergeant major's fists were clenched. Casually, he moved a hand to rest on his canteen.

"I understand how it must have looked," Shun continued, still calm, "but I assure you it was just an accident that will never be repeated. I would never disrespect your sister that way. You don't have to believe me, but I am telling you the truth. And if you attack me, I'm giving you fair warning that I will defend myself to the best of my ability."

Shun planted his feet, meeting the furious Zaron's gaze unflinchingly. "All I apologize for is my clumsiness. Other than that, I did nothing wrong."

"All of that is true," said ZanYi from behind Zaron. His enraged eyes flickered to his sister, who he distinctly recalled leaving behind in her quarters. He watched in silence as the woman put herself between him and Shun, staring him down. ZanYi was taking deep breaths, as if trying to calm down her own irritation. Then she encouraged her brother to do the same.

"Just breathe, Zaron," she told him, trying to get him to calm down. Generally speaking, some supposed he was the more mild one of the two. The difference was the amount of control they had when they were upset. And ZanYi could tell Zaron was about to blow. "Calm down now or you're going to have to explain to the general later why you didn't. I don't think you need that on your record."

His eyes flickered from his sister, to the man behind her and back. He seemed to hear the reasoning, but was reluctant to listen. "I trusted your teammate here to have your back. Instead, I find him covering your front," he seethed. And the admission was enough to make ZanYi irked a bit inside as well.

She shot a look back to Shun before taking a handle on her brother again. "We have both already said it was not like that. I even told you that before," she reminded him. "But you cannot forget that it was Shun who went with me to save you in the attack last night, Shun that has been patching me up after training and combat, and Shun who saved me from getting blown up into tiny bits this morning. I'd say he's doing a good job heeding your request."

The light started to get through to Zaron, and ZanYi watched as his fists slowly unclenched. She sighed in relief quietly, knowing they weren't out of the woods quite yet. "You're exhausted, anxious, and we haven't seen much of each other lately. And forget what I said before. Just calm down."

Shun watched the siblings, trying not to display how nervous he felt. It had been fine when it was just him and Zaron, but now ZanYi was in the way. Shun was trusting in their strong bond as brother and sister to not allow any harm to come to ZanYi, but he had never seen Zaron lose his temper, so he could not be sure that the sergeant major wouldn't injure the lieutenant by accident in his fury. Shun would have rathered ZanYi stayed in the room, though he was grateful beyond words that she was backing him up. But now it sounded like it was a sibling issue rather than an issue between him and Zaron. Shun wondered if he should leave, but he was certain that Zaron was not quite finished with him yet, and would see his exiting as running away.

"There you are, Shun!"

Shun turned, surprised to find Sikka heading their way. Of all the times to seek him out…

Sikka's smile faded as she took in the scene before her; she hesitated a step or two away from Shun. "Um," she began, glancing up at him curiously, "am I interrupting…?"

"What is it, Sikka?" Shun asked. The sooner she finished with whatever business she seemed to have with him, the sooner she could leave. Sikka's face turned a pretty rose color, and she glanced down at what Shun realized was a basket with a bundle that smelled strongly of chocolate.

"Well, when I told a few of the healers in my troop that you had been concussed while trying to protect the lieutenant," she explained with a shifty glance to the woman in question, "we got together and baked these. You know, as a 'get well soon' gesture."

Shun stared, wordlessly taking the basket that Sikka thrust into his arms. First an award from the AKs, and now baked goods from the waterbenders? What was next, a statue from the earthbenders?

"…Thanks," he managed to get out, sounding surprised even to himself. Sikka beamed.

"I hope you like chocolate chip," she said. "Well, that was all. Have a good night. Uh, Lieutenant, Sergeant Major," Sikka acknowledged somewhat awkwardly, bowing to the Tsong siblings in turn before leaving the way she came. Shun still stared down at the basket as Sikka left. Hesitantly, as if he almost expected it to be a joke, he reached out and drew the cloth covering the cookies away. As the smell hit him, Shun was reminded of home, when his mother would bake cookies for them whenever he and his siblings had been extra-good… which was once a week, really. Forgetting where he was, Shun allowed a small smile to creep up on his face, his cheeks flushed.

"That was really nice," he mumbled to himself, "I'll have to thank them properly."

ZanYi had never looked away from Zaron as Sikka had come into their midst. She heard her kind words, and she could smell the home baked goods. The only comfort the lieutenant got from the smell, though, was the sentiment it brought from the waterbenders. As usual, Sikka had great timing, even when it didn't appear to be so. ZanYi watched carefully as Zaron's muscles loosened, his gaze starting to become more curious than irritable.

"You got a concussion when you tried to protect ZanYi?" he asked slowly, as if verifying that he'd heard correctly as he peered above his sister's head to look at Shun. He searched and found the wound on the man's head, though it was much smaller than it had been earlier.

"Yes, and he had a gaping head wound from it," ZanYi answered, but her brother's stare traveled back to hers for only a brief moment before resting back on Shun.

"I believe I asked the waterbender," he told her, and ZanYi had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes, since that would not help at the moment.

Shun snapped out of his sentimental moment and remembered where he was. Zaron's question brought back the unpleasantness of the early morning, washing away the happy memories Shun once shared with his family.

"Yes, I did get a concussion," he affirmed, but then his eyes suddenly darkened. "That wasn't enough, though…" he muttered. The look of pain on ZanYi's face was still fresh in his mind. It disturbed the large waterbender to know she could look that way. It was that memory that prompted Shun to bow to Zaron.

"I apologize, Sergeant Major Tsong," he began, speaking freely now that everything was in the open, "you asked me to protect your sister, but I could do nothing to guard against the shrapnel that impaled her. I wasn't even well enough to heal her myself; Sikka had to do it. For that shortcoming, I am sorry."

Shun was not sure whether or not he was doing himself any favors by bringing up the shrapnel, but he was only being honest. He sincerely felt bad about ZanYi having to suffer through such an event, even if she was tougher than most people he had ever met.

Zaron, however, already knew about the shrapnel. Not only did word travel, but ZanYi had told him herself after she'd sent her report to the general. She had, however, not mentioned Shun's role in the whole event, just that he'd been injured in the bomb as well.

It was all starting to placate him, and ZanYi could see the angry fire go out in his eyes. Zaron looked from Shun's bowed form to his defiant sister, a forced resign on his face.

"Did one of you win the award?"

"Tied."

ZanYi smirked, knowing that Zaron was calm enough now that she did not need to fret about a possible combustion in the hallway. Looking back to the healer, she ordered, "Stand up, Shun. You did nothing wrong, so stop apologizing." Whirling back to her brother, she concluded, "And you: start apologizing."

Zaron seemed to wrestle with it for a moment, but between the accusatory look from the lieutenant and the resulting—but begrudging—guilt that was seeping in after his flash of anger, he felt no choice. Looking back back to Shun, he said, "No, I apologize. I was out of line for overreacting, especially when you have done an exemplary job of watching out for ZanYi, though I feel we may both need protection from her now."

"Oh, yes," she agreed, looking at the two men. The last thing she needed was her brother making such requests behind her back. It undermined her hard work and her authority, a breach of protocol and of trust.

Shun straightened back up, startled. That was it? Not even one burn to make an example out of him? Was Zaron really letting him off the hook?

As this realization started to dawn, Shun began to laugh. It did not last long, in light of the fact that he was now in trouble with the _other _Tsong sibling, but Shun felt so relieved that he could not help but let slip a chuckle or two. The look on ZanYi's face was enough to sober him a moment later, however.

"I told you it would get crowded," he muttered to Zaron, referring to ZanYi's doghouse before addressing the lieutenant herself. "To be fair, ZanYi, even if your brother hadn't asked me to, I would have done my best to have your back. It's in my nature, as I'm sure you've realized by now."

_"Gentle to a fault."_ The words of his brothers from so long ago still rang true to this day. And Shun was just fine with that.

"I don't really care if you would have done it or not," ZanYi told him point blank. She knew for a fact Shun seemed to be the type to look out for everybody; she'd known that since they first met and he saved Tiki from drowning. "That does not excuse either of you from making deals about me behind my back."

She gave her brother the same deadpan that she had just given Shun, and Zaron walked slowly towards her. "Now, ZanYi…"

"Don't even give me that," she stopped him. "You were the one who was about to scorch Shun like fresh fowl. So get going, cool off, and we'll talk tomorrow."

Zaron frowned at his sister, debating how he wanted to play this. He walked over to his sister and slowly raised a hand to her, his eyes trying earnestly to make peace. Reluctantly, she clasped it with a short flame before dropping her hand and letting him skulk off.

Then she looked to Shun again, eyes a bit narrow. "Be thankful I did not know about your deal until after I stepped in, otherwise I would have contemplated letting him burn you."

"Thank you," Shun replied simply with a slight smile. It hardly bothered him that she was mad at him. She had helped him avoid a fight with her scary older brother, and Shun knew when to be grateful. But the Tsong siblings were certainly a handful. If this was the kind of fire that ran in their blood, Shun could understand how one man—their ancestor—had come so close to ruling the entire world.

"Is it safe yet?"

Shun looked down the hall. Tiki was peering meekly around the corner, her hair back into its twin tail style, though they drooped with her worried look. The large waterbender wasn't certain of the answer himself, so he turned to ZanYi, eyebrows raised. He wasn't quite sure if she was finished yelling at him or not, so whether or not it was "safe yet" was entirely her call.

ZanYi glanced back to find Tiki peering out nervously and she massaged her own head, feeling the exhaustion and the stress load of the last day and a half piling up. "Yes, it's safe now, Tiki," she told the small airbender, looking back only briefly at Shun to let him know this was not the end of this.

She surveyed the small girl and sighed. Thankfully Zaron had not seemed to have hurt her in his irritation with her singing, though she supposed that probably would have increased his anger levels already before the incident. "I apologize for the sergeant major's behavior," she told them both wearily. The day was just far too long at this point, and it always seemed to get longer. "Let's just say that sometimes he has anger management issues."

Which is one reason in particular why she had been assigned to the AKs and he had not.

Shun shrugged. No harm, no foul. And he wasn't really ever one to hold a grudge anyway. "It's fine. I'm just glad he understood in the end," the large waterbender said, taking a cookie from the basket Sikka gave to him.

'_I do, however, feel bad for whoever is crazy enough to fall in love with his little sister,_' Shun thought, briefly thinking of Syaoran with a touch of pity. The guy had no idea what he was in for if he really wanted to pursue a relationship with ZanYi.

"These are really good," Shun noted after he tried a cookie, smiling as the warm chocolate melted on his tongue. This batch must have been straight from the oven. "Sikka and her friends are going to make their future in-laws very happy with their baking."

"Sikka gave you cookies?" Tiki exclaimed once she had reached Shun, her eyes bugging out. When had Sikka managed to pass him a basket of cookies during that whole showdown? She had been scared to watch, so she must have just missed the waterbending woman.

"It's my 'get well soon' gift," Shun informed the small airbender, moving the basket just out of Tiki's reach. She pouted at him; he smiled at her.

"That's boring. I thought Sikka was giving you cookies because she likes you," Tiki mumbled, looking underwhelmed. Shun blinked.

"Sikka doesn't like me," he denied immediately, "She was just being nice."

Tiki leveled a look at the giant, her expression speaking volumes. "Shun… are you _blind_?" she asked him point blank. Shun frowned, taking issue with the tiny airbender's tone.

"Sikka does not like me," Shun asserted again, "She has Ransik." Tiki gaped at this piece of information.

"Wha—Sikka and Ransik are a _thing_?!"

"You didn't know? Don't you see the way he looks at her?"

"Don't _you_ see the way she looks at _you_?"

"What way?" Shun asked, obviously confused. Tiki slapped her forehead and turned her back on him.

"Boys!" she ejected before heading back to the room in a huff. Shun stared after her for a full five seconds before turning his perplexed expression onto ZanYi.

"I have no idea what just happened," he admitted without shame. Women. Who could understand them?

Under normal circumstances, ZanYi would have found the interaction to merit a bit of amusement. However, in light of her mood and state of weariness, she could not give that. Instead she just weighed her sight on Shun, irritation making it heavy. She was about to say something to him, but there was a crackle in her pocket and ZanYi let out an exasperated breath. Pulling the comm out of her pocket and putting it into her ear, the lieutenant growled, "What?"

ZanYi had to listen intently for a few minutes, her focus taken from Shun and the problems at hand. Eventually, she sighed and nodded, knowing the voice at the other end could not see her. "Tell them I will be there in just a minute. Over and out."

The device was shoved back in her pocket and she massaged her head with a hand again. Every time she thought the day could not get any longer… "I have to go to a meeting, so I won't be at dinner and probably back late," she informed the waterbender.

Gold looked up to search for his sapphire, still mildly irritated. "I know you're concussed, but I'm going to need you to watch Tiki and make sure she doesn't cause any trouble, or drag Syaoran into any trouble, whenever he gets out of the shower." If an outsider did not know any better, they would certainly think she was discussing small children. Not that it was far off—Tiki was one, as far as the lieutenant was concerned.

A corner of Shun's mouth turned down. He knew for a fact ZanYi didn't have a decent night of sleep the night before, and now it appeared she was going to have a late night once again. He hoped all of her hard work in the past twenty-four hours wouldn't make her pass out from exhaustion, though it was certainly looking that way.

"I'm fine," he brushed off the 'concussion' comment; he had been sleeping most of the day, and he really never felt better. "And don't worry, I'll keep an eye on Tiki."

Shun imagined how Tiki would look if she overheard the lieutenant speaking about her as if she were five years old, and he repressed a smile. After bidding the lieutenant a good night, Shun headed back to Team Avatar's quarters.

"Wanna play a game, Teeks?" Shun asked as he entered the room, intending to keep the tiny airbender busy for as long as possible. But when he looked over to Tiki's cot, he found that she was preoccupied already: she sat cross-legged, breathing slowly, her fists pressed together. Shun watched her for a while until his curiosity got the better of him. "What are you doing, Teeks?"

"Shh," Tiki answered, opening an eye to give the giant waterbender an exasperated look, "I'm meditating. You have to be quiet."

"Oh," Shun replied in surprise, "sorry. Uh… just let me know when you're done and we'll go to dinner, okay?"

Tiki didn't reply, but Shun took her silence as a yes. Allowing himself one more cookie before he set the basket down on his nightstand, Shun returned to his cot and his book. The Avatar would be back soon, the giant waterbender mused, and then he and Syaoran—plus Tiki, if she was done with her meditation—would head to dinner. Hopefully ZanYi would be having something to eat, even if she couldn't dine with them this evening.

Tip-toeing softly into the room, Syaoran peered around, as if concerned that a komodo rhino was going to come out charging. Thankfully, neither Tsong was in sight, Tiki was meditating, and Shun seemed content with a book. Henceforth, it was completely and utterly safe now.

The Avatar let out a breath he didn't even know he'd been holding and dropped his dirty clothes, folded, under his bed. His shower had been quite long; part of it was because he was utterly filthy, but part of it was because he had feared going back to find Zaron still here. And that was a healthy fear. Syaoran could hear raised voices all the way down the hall.

"So, what exactly happened?" he whispered across the room to Shun, trying to keep his voice low for Tiki. If she was going to be quiet, Syaoran sure enough was not going to stop her. "I heard loud voices… Is that a grenade?" he trailed off as his voice rose, alarmed, seeing the bomb on the waterbender's bed. Had things been worse than he had imagined? "What was so bad that you ended up with a grenade?"

Tiki's eyes flew open. She was annoyed at first—all she wanted was a little peace and quiet. Was that so much to ask? But when she processed what exactly Syaoran was saying, her annoyance turned into alarm.

"When did a _grenade _get into the room?" she asked, jumping down from her cot and huddling underneath it in fear. "Did Zaron try to blow you up when I wasn't looking?!"

"Both of you calm down," Shun requested, not even bothering to look up from his book. One of his large hands felt around the sheets until he located the grenade, and he held it up for them to see. "It's been deactivated. It's a sort of joke award from the Agni-Kais. They give this grenade to the person who was injured the most in battle. Apparently, ZanYi and I tied for it."

"…That's a little morbid," Tiki criticized, cautiously creeping out from under her cot, her wary eyes on the grenade in Shun's hand. The giant waterbender looked up from his book and smiled.

"That's what I thought too," he admitted, "but ZanYi says it's a way of showing support for injured comrades. Sort of a 'get well soon' gesture."

"Why didn't they just bake you some cookies like Sikka and her friends did?" Tiki asked, her expression sly. Shun frowned at her innuendo.

"It's not their thing, I suppose," he answered, returning to his book and letting the award fall back to the foot of his cot. Tiki winced when it bounced, but when no explosion resulted, she heaved a sigh of relief and returned to her meditating. After receiving such a nasty shock, she was in need of some relaxation.

Syaoran couldn't fathom such an award, so he was fairly thankful that he himself was not the one to win the award from the AKs. He kept staring at the deactivated explosive, expecting it to explode any minute. Once he felt comfortable enough that it wouldn't blow up, the Avatar relaxed again.

"Wait, if that's from the AKs…" he pieced together, looking from the grenade to Tiki and back to Shun, "then why would Sergeant Major Tsong be trying to blow you up? Were you part of the argument I heard in the hall?"

That did not make sense. Sure, it seemed from training that contrary to popular belief, the Tsongs were not always on the exact same page. But how on earth could Shun have gotten himself in trouble with them? He had just gotten back on the lieutenant's good side, and he seemed quite fine with Zaron. "What the heck did I miss?"

"Ohhhh, that's right! You missed the whole thing!" Tiki realized, her peaceful expression giving way to her feline smirk. Shun froze in the middle of turning a page in his book and sighed. Here was another misunderstanding in the making…

"Okay, so get this: Zaron and I are heading back here, him carrying me romantically—"

"Tiki—" Shun tried to interrupt Tiki's overzealous storytelling, but she waved him down.

"Come on, let me tell it! So anyway, we get back to the room just in time to see Shun on top of ZanYi!"

The scandal in Tiki's tone was enough to make Shun slap his forehead. He hated the fact that he was turning red at that moment.

"So then Zaron gets all huffy and asks to see Shun in the hall. I thought he was gonna be a goner, but he was apparently saved by ZanYi, who defended him. She said some pretty mean things to Zaron too! I was watching the whole thing and—"

"It was an accident," Shun asserted, a little put out that Tiki had missed the most crucial part of the incident. "I was kneeling in front of ZanYi, healing her scars, and when I tried to get up, I tripped over my feet and fell on top of her. It was a clumsy moment that led to a huge misunderstanding."

"Oh yeah, that too," Tiki remembered too late. Shun slapped his forehead again. "Oh, and Sikka gave Shun cookies too! I don't know about you, Syaoran, but I'm pretty sure that means—"

"Tiki, go back to your meditating," Shun said sternly, frowning at the tiny airbender. Tiki, for her part, look affronted.

"Well then, I can take a hint," she huffed, resuming her meditating position. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said no more. Shun shook his head at her, and then turned to meet the Avatar's eyes.

"It was an accident," he repeated lowly and slowly, never looking away from Syaoran. It was crucial that the Avatar believe him. Shun was not interested in ZanYi, and he didn't need Syaoran, who had just realized his feelings for the lieutenant, thinking otherwise. More importantly, he did not need two of his teammates mad at him right now, otherwise the only person he would be able to have a conversation with was Tiki. Now _that_ was a scary thought.

Syaoran could not tell if Shun was understating the incident—possible—or if Tiki was exaggerating it—probable. So he turned to see the severity in Shun's eyes and, taking into account his nature, Syaoran knew that it was just an accident. An incredibly embarrassing accident, it seemed, but an accident, nonetheless.

Again, he was thankful for being able to slip away to take a long, hot shower. Syaoran was not entirely sure what he would have done in such an incident. Chances are he would have just gaped and been rooted with confusion.

"Sounds like it sucked," he said slowly, giving a sympathizing look to Shun to let him know he understood. He did feel, though, the emphasis Shun was placing on it was laid on a bit thick. It was not as if Syaoran was in love with the lieutenant. He just wasn't sure if he only saw her as a teacher, either. "I'm surprised Sergeant Major Tsong left you in one piece."

"Yeah," Shun agreed, relieved that Syaoran understood. He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment and was punished by an angry throbbing from the tender spot on the back of his head. Wincing, the giant waterbender pulled his hand back to see if there was blood on his hand. There wasn't, which meant the wound hadn't reopened. That was good.

Still staring at his hand, Shun said, "The sergeant major backed off when he found out I was concussed while trying to save ZanYi from the bomb." Again, Shun vowed to find a way to thank Sikka properly—if she had not shown up when she did, he probably would have been scorched to a crisp.

"Anyway, it became a moot point in the end," Shun said, leaning back on his cot with a sigh, "ZanYi's angry at both of us now."

"What did you do this time?" Tiki could not help but chime in again, opening an eye to peer curiously at Shun. The giant waterbender lay there for a moment, contemplating whether or not to answer Tiki. In the end, he chose not.

"Are you done? If we hurry, we could probably still grab some dinner," said Shun, not-so-subtly changing the subject. Luckily for him, Tiki was instantly distracted by the promise of food, so she didn't notice.

"Yeah, let's go!" she enthused, hopping off her cot once more. With a flip of her twin tails, she turned to the Avatar. "Coming, Syaoran?"

Syaoran, however, had not been distracted by the promise of food for once, and therefore noticed how Shun avoided answering the question. And while he was not sure what to make of that, he could only hope Shun had a good reason. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," he told her, rising to his feet. He looked once to ZanYi's cot, knowing she would not be in attendance, as usual. Following after Tiki and Shun, he took his leave from the room, hoping food would placate his worries as it normally did.

* * *

**A/N from Eva: (Muffling her giggles) I love this chapter. You have no idea. XD I hope you all were just as entertained as DJ and I were when we wrote it. XD And now to the acknowledgements!  
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	12. The Other Lieutenant

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire**

**By Twins of the Pen**

**Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

* * *

Shun opened his eyes.

It was pitch dark in Team Avatar's quarters. He could hear slow, even breathing from across the room where Syaoran and Tiki slept. Shun, on the other hand, was finding himself restless. He had slept on and off all day, and now found himself wide-awake in the middle of the night. Now he was wishing he had waited to crash after nightfall. Sighing quietly, he got up from his cot, stretched as high as he could—which wasn't too high—and padded silently out of the room, being extra careful not to hit his head on the door frame on the way out.

The base was so quiet it was eerie. Shun knew for a fact that there were still people awake—ZanYi's cot was still empty when he left—but everyone else had turned in for the night, some early in preparation for an early start the next day. Shun felt his way down the dark hall until he reached the loading bay, where one or two lights were still on. From there, the giant waterbender headed straight for his beloved motorcycle, which was miraculously left untouched in the raid the day before.

"Well aren't you a sight for sore eyes?" Shun spoke to the bike, smirking as he knelt down and ran a hand across the flouncy lettering that read 'Ai' on the side of the motorcycle. His smirk faded soon after when he pulled his hand away to reveal a light coating of dust.

"Sorry I haven't had time to spend with you, Ai. Things have been busy here. You understand, right? I know you're used to having me all to yourself, but I have responsibilities now. We'll go out soon, I promise. Just the two of us."

Did Shun feel a little silly talking to an inanimate object? Yes. But there was no one around, so why should he care? Besides, he and Ai shared this strong bond that could not be broken by anything, even if she was just a motorcycle in the eyes of others. Shun didn't expect other people to understand anyway.

Considering the hour it was, not many were expected to be up and about. However, one that was still up was ZanYi. True to form, the meeting had lasted quite late into the night, resulting in meager rations for dinner and a growing migraine. So when she heard a voice speaking in the dimly lit loading bay, she ambled over to find the source.

Discovering Shun talking to his motorcycle was not exactly what she'd envisioned. She stopped to lean her shoulder and hip into the doorway, crossing her arms as she gazed on silently. Tiki had made several jokes before about Ai being akin to Shun's girlfriend, but ZanYi was beginning to think Shun was starting to believe it.

"I think that concussion messed with your head," the lieutenant eventually conjectured, making herself known to the waterbender. She looked on with a neutral expression, unable to smirk at him. Even if she weren't still holding a grudge against him for making deals with Zaron, she no longer had any patience by then. Spending hours around a table debating military strategies with a brother she was upset with, an earthbender who thought he always knew better, and a peanut gallery of others who remained silent, ZanYi was thoroughly spent.

Shun had not been aware of anyone else's presence. So when ZanYi's voice cut through the semi-darkness, he jumped, nearly knocking Ai over. He caught and steadied the bike just in time, however, and then stood up to turn and face the lieutenant.

ZanYi looked exhausted. Her face was haggard, and there were dark circles under her eyes, almost as if she had recently suffered from a broken nose. Clearly it was way past time for her to get some sleep. So why was she still awake and talking to him?

"Good evening, Lieutenant… or should I say good morning?" Shun mused, ignoring her jibe that questioned his sanity. ZanYi was one of the people he expected not to be able to understand his relationship with Ai. Stepping closer to her, the giant waterbender placed a hand lightly on the top part of the doorway, critical eyes studying the lieutenant's face. She looked even worse up close.

"Rather than worrying about me, shouldn't you get some rest?" Shun's tone was playful, but his eyes were serious. It had been a long day for all of them, but ZanYi especially. He had to admire the simple fact that she was still able to stand up at this point.

ZanYi managed a scoff. "Well, I was going to when I heard a voice in here," she told Shun, looking up as his face loomed overhead of her. "We're in the middle of a war. I would not be worthy of my title if I just ignored anything out of the ordinary." And hearing voices in the loading bay at such an obscene time was certainly out of the ordinary after a day like today.

While his height was formidable, the lieutenant was not intimidated, despite many who probably would be in that circumstance. In fact, she was only supported by the mere instance that she was still able to surprise him in such a state. And for someone who had gotten quite the head wound that dawn, he himself seemed to be getting by quite swimmingly.

"What are you doing up, Shun?" she demanded of him, her eyes beginning to narrow a little and her head continuing to throb. "You shouldn't be up and you shouldn't be in here right now."

Shun slowly raised his eyebrows. He had never specifically been told he was not allowed in the loading bay after hours… or was that one of those unspoken rules that went along with being in the Resistance? Moreover, what was she so concerned about? Did she suspect him of mischief, when that was so clearly Tiki's department?

"I couldn't sleep," he answered her question slowly, as if trying to gauge her reaction to every word he spoke. "I've been asleep all day, so now I'm wide-awake. Rather than wake Tiki and Syaoran, I came in here to visit Ai. I didn't know it was against the rules to be in here late at night."

Shun matched the lieutenant's expression. It was like he was a child being scolded for a wrongdoing he didn't commit all over again. Did the Tsong siblings enjoy prosecuting him or something?

"You're cranky," he noted, knowing fully well that such a comment would probably get him in trouble. But he wasn't going to stand there and be snarled at for the second time that night. Whereas ZanYi needed sleep, he had just woken up, and rather than being well rested, it made his usually enduring patience run thinner than usual.

"And you're a pain in my side," ZanYi returned, unfazed. She did not care whether he was offended or bothered by her comment. She was normally quite blunt anyway, but she held no feeling back. Exhausted physically and mentally, ZanYi had nothing left to give but that.

She grumbled as she rubbed her temple, bothered. "There are no regulations against you being in here," she informed him, "but curfew for those without clearance is enforced. We can't have you guys running off wherever you'd like in the middle of a war zone. If you're unaccounted for during a raid or ambush, that's your life and my head at risk."

None of the other members of Team Avatar were military, which made them her responsible in the eyes of the Resistance. And with everything going on, plus training the Avatar, ZanYi did not need more trouble being handed to her.

Shun's frown deepened. How could she still have so much fire in her after everything she had gone through today? The woman was relentless.

"I understand that," he said evenly, though on the inside, he was actually having to fight for patience. Something like this had never happened before, so it was throwing him for a loop. ZanYi was really pushing it. "There is, however, no need for you to speak to me like that."

Shun understood that ZanYi was tired, and that his midnight wanderings could very well get her into trouble. But there was absolutely no reason for her to condescend him, and he didn't appreciate it at all.

"Seeing as how we're about the same age, I would appreciate it if you treated me as such and stopped looking down on me," Shun quirked a brow sarcastically, "figuratively, anyway."

ZanYi had quirked her brow at him as well, knowing full well that Shun's height is something she would never achieve. She had to stifle a yawn, because that was the absolute wrong time to be showing any sort of weakness.

"Shun," she said, closing her eyes for a brief moment, as if that would rest them, "if I took age into consideration with everything I do, I wouldn't be where I am today." ZanYi would not be an Agni Kai; she would not be a lieutenant; she would not even be respected the way she is.

"You're a talented healer," ZanYi conceded, looking back to the waterbender with tired, but determined eyes, "and I'd wager to say better than any of the healers I've come into contact with yet. But I can't make any exceptions."

Her soldiers respected her. Other regiments as well. But to say there wasn't a line of people that did not think she deserved to be where she was would be an utter lie. That earthbender Zaron was forced to work with was just one of many.

Shun blinked. This was one of those rare instances where ZanYi actually complimented him. Sure, Shun had been gratified many times for his healing talents, but to actually hear such compliments from a woman like ZanYi… well, in normal circumstances, Shun would be flattered beyond words. But she still wasn't getting what he was saying.

"ZanYi," Shun groaned with a slight shake of his head, "I'm not working under you. I'm working _with_ you. Despite what you may think, there is a difference."

Releasing the top of the doorway, Shun moved past the lieutenant and started down the hall. He had just taken a few steps before he paused again, contemplating his next words before he spoke them.

"I'm not an official part of the Resistance," Shun acknowledged out loud, looking down at his feet as he spoke. "But I _do_ want this war to end as badly as you do."

Images of his family and a small, dark room he was kept in after he was ripped away from them flashed through Shun's mind. When he turned to look at ZanYi, there was a fire in his eyes that could almost rival her own. "And I want our side to win," he continued with conviction. Heading back over to the lieutenant, the giant waterbender allowed a half-smile to form on his lips as he gazed down at her.

"So would it _kill_ you to have a little faith in me?" he entreated, the humor returning to his voice. "I trust you to know what you're doing, and I know for a fact that you're good at what you do. I may not know how everything works around here, but I know enough to help keep Tiki out of trouble and to help you avoid further trouble with your superiors."

Daringly, Shun rested one of his large hands on ZanYi's shoulder.

"I've got your back, ZanYi," he said quietly, his eyes solemn. "Don't forget that."

ZanYi's gaze fluttered from the hand that rested on her shoulder and back up to Shun's face. And despite his words of assurance, she still had to sit on his words before speaking. She knew the difference between them working together and him working under her; the lieutenant understood that difference quite plainly.

What Shun did not seem to understand was that the difference did not matter to those who were waiting to watch her fall. To see her comply with anyone not her superior, or particularly any outsider, was just an excuse to poke at her title. This was a rough world that had been chosen for her, and she had to stand her own in it.

However, she had no energy and felt no need to try and explain any of that to him. ZanYi could only take his words and then add a pinch of her world logic to them. She dredged up a deep sigh as she rested her gaze once more, the world starting to get foggier and foggier. When the lieutenant stared up to him once more, her eyes, despite their weariness, still held sparks.

"Do you have my back because of my brother? Because if that's your reason, I want no part in this."

Shun had been expecting this question. And the fact that she asked it made him smile, just a little bit. He would never go so far as to say he understood ZanYi Tsong, but he felt that he was getting somewhere, at least.

"I told you already: even if your brother hadn't asked, I would have done my best to have your back." Shun quoted himself, word for word, on purpose, and his smile broadened as he finished with the last sentence. "It's in my nature, as I'm sure you've realized by now."

He may have said it before, but that didn't make it any easier for ZanYi to swallow. After all, it was difficult to when Shun had not started this approach until after they had arrived in Omashu, which is when she would bet the deal had taken place.

So instead, the lieutenant stared at him, analyzed him, searched every bit of his face. What she was looking for was sincerity, honesty. ZanYi found both of them there.

Ignoring his broadening smile, she finally relented. "Fine," she resigned, grudge in her voice still. "Do not make me regret this, Shun Jiang."

Shun's smile turned wry at this warning.

"I'm sure you'll make me pay dearly if you do," he replied. He gave her shoulder a slight squeeze before dropping his hand and jerking his head back toward the hall. "Come on, bed time. No offense, but you look like a zombie."

She looked as if she were going to pass out as well, but Shun kept that observation to himself, certain that the lieutenant would not appreciate him insinuating weakness on her part.

It was certainly past time to rest, and ZanYi had no doubt that she probably looked just as Shun said. The last full rest she'd had was their first night in Omashu, and since then she had trained the Agni-Kais, suffered third degree burns, saved the Avatar and his gang from an ambush, commenced a rescue mission to save her brother, slept a few hours before executing an assault on the palace, taken over Omashu, trained with the Avatar, resolved a conflict with said brother, and attended another tactical meeting that had lasted hours.

The lieutenant started reeling at just the thought. So when she moved to push off of the doorframe, ZanYi found herself a bit uneasy on her feet, falling forward a bit. Reaching out a hand that collided square with Shun's chest, she stopped herself from completely falling into him. She had to grip onto his shirt to steady herself on her feet.

"Sorry," ZanYi excused herself quietly, pushing away from him. Continuing down the hallway, ZanYi walked slowly and purposefully, though not without a few minor stumbles along the way.

Shun watched her progress, at war with himself.

On the one hand, the fact that she stumbled every now and then bothered him. ZanYi clearly was too tired to walk, but was forcing herself to do so anyway. Team Avatar's room wasn't that far away from the loading bay, but it was still a pretty good distance.

And yet, on the other hand, Shun had just made a big deal about trusting her to be able to handle herself. She was 'The Lieutenant', and therefore had to be stronger than anyone else to do her job efficiently. She could not show weakness to the people that worked below her, or she would lose their respect.

…But, then again… there was no one else around…

Shun sighed. There was a very high chance that he would be overstepping his boundaries as well as snapping any patience ZanYi had left, if any. But even so, wasn't now as good a time as any to show that he had her back, no matter what?

It was with that thought firmly rooted in his mind that Shun came up behind ZanYi and swept her up into his arms in one graceful motion. If only he could be this smooth all the time.

"Please don't fight me on this," he asked ZanYi, making it a request rather than a demand as he stared straight ahead, his eyes squinting in the darkness. "You're tired, and this will get you to sleep faster. Besides, I don't want you falling and hurting yourself. Goodness knows you don't need another injury, let alone a head-related one. I'm sure I don't have to tell you this, but they're not fun."

Shun waited until the darkness of the hallway fully engulfed them, and he could no longer see ZanYi, before he spoke again. "And it's just me," he pointed out, grinning in the dark, "I won't tell anyone about this if you won't."

Shun was even willing to pretend the whole event never even happened the next morning, if it would make ZanYi feel better. He just hoped she wouldn't be too irritated with him. He was, after all, only trying to help.

ZanYi, however, did not particularly care for Shun's helping hand. And it did, in fact, push what little patience she had left. And when he had scooped her up, she was in utter disbelief. It was not because he had been able to pull off such a feat; Shun was a large, grown man, despite that ZanYi was not a tiny woman herself. No. It was because Shun seemed to think of this as helping her that she had a hard time.

"I can't believe this…" the lieutenant grumbled to herself in the dark. Not even her brother dared to try such a thing, not since they were children. And yet Shun thought just because she relented a little that he could do whatever he saw fit?

And, to make matters worse, he seemed quite content doing this. ZanYi could practically hear the smile in his voice, as if Shun saw no problem with this. Lighting one of her hands ablaze, she looked up in the near darkness to see him smiling just as she'd thought. And it made her frown all the more.

"Shun," she said in a low voice, warning dripping from every inch of it, "put me down now or I will burn you." One warning. That was all he was going to be given, the most courtesy she was willing to extend him.

Shun looked down at ZanYi, his expression speculative.

Of course she was angry that he was manhandling her, but all he had been expecting was an angry word or two. He didn't expect her to actually threaten him and mean it. And she did mean it: he could see it in her eyes.

For a brief moment, Shun considered telling her to go ahead and burn him. He didn't want to put her down, because she looked like she was about to drop, despite her fiery threat. And she seemed to be forgetting he was a healer and that a burn—no matter how severe—was no problem for him.

But Shun knew this was much more than threatened physical abuse—he was injuring the lieutenant's pride. It just occurred to him, and he could have kicked himself for not thinking about it before he acted. Usually he was more sensitive than that.

"Okay, okay," he placated with a sigh, letting ZanYi down onto her feet. "I'm sorry. Next time I won't help unless you ask me to."

_'Which will probably never happen,'_ Shun noted to himself, but that was not the point.

ZanYi was fine once he put her down. She kept that hand lit by her side, now using it as a light and not a threat. "I appreciate your concern, Shun, but I am fine," she told him, looking directly at him as she spoke. Granted, it was the sentiment that she appreciated, not the act. However, she figured that message had already been conveyed.

As she started walking away, she took care to watch her step in the dim hallway. It seemed even her flame was waning, not as bright and vibrant. "I have two legs and neither are crippled. Therefore, unless I cannot move on my own, don't try that stunt again."

Hearing her words, she grumbled, knowing this was exactly what they had just been arguing about. And while age was not a factor to her, support was, and sadly the large waterbender was proving to be quite capable in that regard. So it was with great difficulty that she added through tight teeth, "Please."

Shun smiled. It appeared they were getting somewhere after all.

"Yes, ma'am," he agreed, showing her the respect she deserved, since she was consenting to do the same. It appeared it cost her a great effort, but Shun could appreciate the fact that she was trying.

* * *

When Syaoran arose the next morning, it was not rude. In fact, it was quiet, peaceful. It was enough to concern him so he rose slowly, trying to prepare for anything. He could see lights in the hallway, so he knew it was day. Which puzzled him further.

Looking across to the door, he sought the body that lay there. His feet quiet on the floor, Syaoran crept over, finding ZanYi still peacefully asleep as she rested on her back, her chest falling with every exhale. This was getting utterly bizarre—Syaoran was then prompted to pinch himself several times. When that had no effect, the Avatar realized he was not dreaming.

Closer, Syaoran peered. Even as he stood over her, the lieutenant was not disturbed. Her dark hair sprawled about her pillow, her lips slightly parted as she slept. This was the first time he could recall actually seeing the woman asleep, and it certainly made her look different. Pretty, in a way. Syaoran blushed as he stepped back. None of those observations resolved the main issue.

It was morning. And ZanYi was not yet awake.

"I think the lieutenant is broken."

Tiki peered around Syaoran, seeing the evidence for herself.

"In a coma, more like," she suggested, sneaking around Syaoran to poke ZanYi. Her finger was an inch away from the lieutenant's cheek when her hand was caught by a hand the size of a dinner plate.

"Let her sleep," said Shun, pulling Tiki back by the collar of her tank top. "She's had an exhausting week."

"What, and we haven't?" Tiki questioned, turning around to pout at Shun. "If the lieutenant gets to sleep in, why can't we?"

Shun quirked an eyebrow at the tiny airbender. "Did anyone force you to get up this morning?" he queried. Tiki turned a tell-tale shade of red.

"Not the point!" she attempted to assert, but Shun was already smiling.

"C'mon," he said, grabbing Tiki and carrying her under his arm. "Let's go to breakfast so we don't disturb ZanYi."

"Won't she be mad if someone doesn't bother to wake her up?"

"Not as mad as she might be if someone does wake her up."

"Touche, Tall One."

Syaoran watched as Shun carried Tiki out of the room, leaving the room quiet and only lit by the hall lights through the cracked door. However, instead of following, Syaoran stood back by her cot again, gazing down at her.

Since she was not yelling at him or anyone else at the current moment, for once he could truly look at her. Her personality spoke volumes, akin to the fire that is her element. But her appearance spoke the same of her. Her pale skin was visible, even in the dark, her raven hair blending into the darkness. And since she was not yelling, her face was softer. In all honesty, she looked utterly different from the woman she was normally, a totally different side of her.

And Syaoran was realizing he liked that side perhaps as much as he admired her fighting spirit. He reached down to push back a strand of hair that had fallen across her face.

Just as he did that, however, those eyes opened with a blaze. And then the rest of her followed. With a loud shout, ZanYi whirled from her bed, fists and legs fired up, as bright as ever. Syaoran would have found that rather attractive as well, the way the fire enveloped her, but he was too busy avoiding the flames.

With a yelp, Syaoran fell back onto his rear. He was surprised, yes. Scared? Yes. And now he was in pain as some of the fire seared his arm. "Ow!" he cried out, but he could not say more as the lieutenant stood over him, fists at the ready and her glare trained on him.

Her shoulders rose and fell with her heavy breaths, even more hair falling around her face. But the fire went out of ZanYi's eyes when she realized who it was that she had just attacked.

"Syaoran?" she spoke aloud, as if verifying what her arisen eyes seemed to find. Syaoran nodded vigorously and ZanYi relented her fighting posture to cross her arms. "What the heck do you think you were doing?"

"Uh…" Syaoran could not find the words at first, unable to voice the trance he had previously found himself in. So instead, he suggested weakly, "Waking you up?"

She seemed disbelieving, but she looked at the hallway and then ruffled through the duffel under her cot. Finding a timepiece, she swore. Looking back to Syaoran, ZanYi ordered, "Go get Shun to heal that burn on your arm, get breakfast, and tell the Agni-Kais training will be starting late today."

He needed not to be told twice. Syaoran was on his feet quickly and slipped out of the room, following after Shun and Tiki.

"All I'm saying," Tiki was saying as Syaoran approached them on the way to the mess hall, "is that being underground all the time may not be the best idea. I mean, what about mole people? And I heard that some serial killers like to lure their victims underground before killing them in the most brutal way possible!"

"First of all, Teeks, mole people do not exist," Shun denied, looking amused, "and second of all, I have never heard of an underground serial killer."

"Just because you've never heard of them doesn't mean they don't exist!" Tiki burst out. Out of the corner of her eye, Tiki saw Syaoran approach and turned to him eagerly. "Syaoran, will you please tell Shun that—what happened to you?!"

The shock in Tiki's tone made Shun turn around. His ice blue eyes widened as he took in the burn on Syaoran's arm, and then narrowed in understanding. "You woke ZanYi up, didn't you?" he asked shrewdly, bending water out of his canteen to cover Syaoran's fresh burn. He had expected to have breakfast before having to heal any burns, but it turned out that every day held surprises for him.

Syaoran allowed Shun to work over his fresh burn as he mumbled, "I didn't mean to…" He did, however, make a note not to do such a thing ever again. Syaoran could not, under any circumstances, allow himself to believe that the lieutenant was a normal woman. Despite anything Shun may say otherwise, it was just not true. "I did not expect her to jump out of bed and attack like a whirlwind of fire."

"She's a military officer. You should have expected it. How would you feel if you suddenly woke up to a shadow looming over you?" Shun reasoned. He finished healing the fresh burn in record time and was bending the healing water back into his canteen when Tiki piped up.

"I think you may have been lucky to get away with just a burn," she said, standing on tiptoe to inspect the rest of him. "And how did you wake her up without meaning to? Did you cough too loudly or something?"

Syaoran coughed at that, choking on the very air he was breathing. He was not going to explain this to anyone, let alone Tiki. That was just asking for embarrassment and unneeded attention. "Something like that, and I guess it disturbed her," Syaoran said plainly, avoiding all details. He looked at Shun, weighing the man's previous advice again. "I still don't get how you get along with her, even when she's mad at you," he marveled again.

"It's all about choosing your battles, Syaoran," Shun said sagely, clapping a hand on Syaoran's newly healed shoulder. Tiki frowned at the pair of them, feeling as if she was missing something. But, for the life of her, she could not figure out what.

"Are we getting breakfast, or our we waiting for ZanYi to come and fireblast Syaoran some more for waking her up?" she asked.

"I vote breakfast," Shun said, grinning.

Syaoran eagerly agreed, walking with them as they tread towards the mess hall. It was another building, directly next to the one that they used as the barracks. As usual, a small fuss was made as they entered; between the Avatar, an airbender, and a guy as big as Shun, a commotion was always made. Once they were seated with their meals, he noticed the Agni-Kais shooting them various looks.

"They're probably wondering about the lieutenant," Syaoran said, and he knew that part of his orders from her were to pass on word to her soldiers about training. However, the last thing he wanted to do was stand in front of a horde of firebenders and relay the news. It took several minutes and a lot of courage for him to stand up and look over at the AKs. Before he could even utter a word to them, another voice spoke up.

"Training will begin shortly after breakfast," ZanYi declared as she strode into the hall. Syaoran turned and saw that she was much more put together than previously, much more the rigid lieutenant that he was familiar with. Fruit on her tray, she sat down among Syaoran and his comrades, the rest of the AKs now focusing back on their food.

Syaoran sat back down and looked at the lieutenant, feeling a bit awkward inside. "Um, good morning, Lieutenant Tsong."

"Morning, Syaoran," ZanYi replied shortly, putting more effort into eating. First and foremost, she was upset with herself for oversleeping. Tired or not, there was no allowance for such an undisciplined act. Second, considering the meager portions she'd had time to eat the day before, ZanYi was starving.

"What did Syaoran do to wake you up?" Tiki asked immediately, "Shun told us we shouldn't, but Syaoran said he did on accident, but he won't tell us—"

Shun promptly shoved an apple into Tiki's mouth, effectively shutting her up.

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Teeks," he chided, putting his fork down on his already clean plate. "How did you sleep, ZanYi?" Shun asked casually, ignoring Tiki's spitting out apple peels everywhere.

ZanYi observed Tiki with disgust on her face as she watched the bits of apple fly. As she did so, Syaoran sent Shun a grateful look. When the lieutenant looked to Shun, she managed a simple, "Fine," in reply. And she had slept fine. Quite well, actually. But she had woken up late on a training day, and that was inexcusable in her book. Looking over to Syaoran, ZanYi said, "Thank-you for waking me, though I do apologize for your burn. Was Shun able to patch you up?"

Finding her to actually be speaking to him, Syaoran sat up a bit straighter. "Yeah, he did," he told her, "but I am _really_ sorry to have woken you up—"

"I can sleep when I'm dead," ZanYi interrupted without skipping a beat. Syaoran was a bit taken aback by it, but then again, he felt as if he should not be surprised. She seemed very intent on getting started with the day, the way she was taking down her food. "Right now, it is more important to work on your training and keep the AKs on their toes."

"How can you sleep when you're—?" Tiki began, looking confused by the lieutenant's logic. A glance at Shun's raised eyebrows, however, goaded her into silently nibbling on her piece of toast.

"So it's back to business as usual, then?" Shun wanted to check, his chin in his hand as he looked away. After all the excitement in the past day, it almost seemed normal. Shun welcomed normal. In fact, the weather today was perfect for a ride out on his motorcycle, and he was looking forward to it.

"You looking for Sikka, Shun?" Tiki asked, her kitty grin in place as she elbowed the giant waterbender. Shun turned to give the tiny airbender an exasperated look.

"Will you get off that already? I'm telling you there's nothing—"

"Good morning, Shun."

Shun forced himself to stop talking, almost cleaving his tongue in half with his teeth. Wincing, he turned to find Sikka smiling brightly at him. "Hey, Sikka. How are you?"

"I'm well. Did you enjoy the cookies?"

"They were delicious."

"I'm glad," Sikka replied, her smile brightening. "Well, I just came over to say hi. Um, have a good day, and I'll see you later."

As Sikka walked away, Tiki turned to Shun as her feline smirk grew. "You were saying?"

ZanYi's gaze went from Sikka's retreating form to Shun. Then her brows rose and she smirked. Snickering, the lieutenant advised, "Better not let Ransik see that." It was none of her business what went on with Sikka and Ransik; in her opinion, they were as bad at realizing each other's feelings as teenagers. But ZanYi was not going to encourage Shun either. After all, she actually happened to like the other two waterbenders.

Dropping her spoon on her tray, she then went back to topic. "But yes, it's going to be back to business as usual. We are slated to leave Omashu in a few days' time."

Syaoran found this to be reassuring, now that the threat of combat was over with. Not that he minded helping; he was the Avatar, and Syaoran thought this was part of the job description—even if he didn't feel all that helpful, honestly. But to say it did not terrify him would be a lie. "So, when we leave Omashu, you will be leaving with us?" he daringly asked.

ZanYi nodded. "My work with the AKs is done here, now that we've taken back the city. They will be traveling back with us at the end of the week when we return to base." However, she did not know who was being sent in to replace them, for surely firepower would be needed to enforce the city's walls until all of the enemy forces have given up on the city.

And that was when her morning got even worse.

"Oh, so the princess has decided to join us this morning. We should feel honored."

ZanYi had to hold back the string of utterances that the new voice brought out of her. Flames danced at her hands in her irritation, but she forced them down. Standing, she turned to find a man, close to her brother in stature and age. His jet-black hair was pulled back, his beard shapely, but his eyes stared long and hard at ZanYi, a sneer on his lips.

"Lieutenant Zhao," she greeted with a tight expression on her face, and a forced smirk. "I wasn't expecting to see you."

The man's sneer widened as he gazed down at ZanYi. "I suppose you missed our arrival this morning. A princess needs her beauty sleep, from what I hear."

"Which is so sad, because surely you need it more than I do."

The two lieutenants stared at each other, their gazes locked in a stalemate. ZanYi did not think things could get worse on such a simple morning. And then they send her Lieutenant Zhao. She could only hope she was going to get through the next couple days without receiving a dishonorable discharge for murder.

Tiki watched the exchange avidly, her fork missing her mouth as she chewed on air. The tiny airbender thought that all firebenders respected the lieutenant because she was, well, The Lieutenant. But it seemed that ZanYi was not the only firebending lieutenant around. Tiki had only heard of one Zhao before, and that was back in the time of her great-great-grandfather. However, it was pretty obvious that General Zhao's legacy of ruthlessness lived on.

The sound of Shun's canteen top popping off made Tiki look at him. The giant waterbender's expression appeared calm enough, but his eyes were sharp on the pair of lieutenants, and a hand was casually resting on his canteen. Shun was prepared as always just in case a fight broke out… and it looked very much like it was about to. The rest of the mess hall seemed to recognize that as well. The room started getting quieter, but the most noticeable difference was that all of the AKs had risen to their feet, looking at Zhao darkly. Syaoran made another mental note not to cross them, because the look on their faces screamed for a fight.

Zhao seemed quite aware of this and said nothing as his gaze surveyed the room, soldier to soldier. Then they fell on the group behind ZanYi. "So, is this your new little posse? Full of misfits, I could only guess."

Syaoran took offense to that and officially did not like this guy either, his eyes narrowing. "Actually, this would be Team Avatar," he said, looking up at the firebender. Zhao looked at him with one brow up, amused more than anything.

"Aw, such a cute name. And you would be…?"

"The Avatar."

Zhao surveyed him even more closely then, and Syaoran felt as if the man was shooting fire from his eyes at him. Something inside him stirred—the part that wasn't worried he was about to get scorched—but then Syaoran saw ZanYi subtly hold a halting hand down to him with a stare warning him to stand down.

She looked at the lieutenant before her next. "I think it's time for you to go and address your own unit, Zhao," she cautioned him with stern eyes, but her lips tilted upwards. "Unless you want a repeat of last time we crossed paths."

This seemed to spark something in Zhao and he glared darkly at ZanYi, who gladly returned the favor. He looked around once more before settling back on her. "We'll just have to catch up later then, Princess," he seemed to concede. Lieutenant Zhao gave her one more derogatory sneer before turning heel and ambling out of the building. And it took a few minutes, but eventually even the AKs sat back down and returned to their meals.

ZanYi took her seat as well, but fire still flittered from finger to finger.

"Well," Tiki began, letting her fork clatter against her plate, "that man was pleasant."

"A real sweetheart," Shun agreed, watching Lieutenant Zhao leave. He capped his canteen again once the unpleasant man exited the building.

"So what happened the last time you two met?" Tiki wanted to know, watching ZanYi eagerly. "Please tell me you kicked his butt into next week and that's why he's so bitter."

Shun smirked, silently agreeing with Tiki's words.

Syaoran leaned forward on his elbows, eager to hear the answer as well. ZanYi smirked briefly at their interest, enough to ease her from playing with the fire in her hands. "The last time we saw each other," she said slowly, "he tried to privately confront me about my promotion, which resulted in an Agni-Kai that left him in the medical ward for a couple days."

Letting out a low exhale, Syaoran looked back to the doorway Lieutenant Zhao had just exited out of. "Dang, no wonder all of the AKs were on edge," he remarked and ZanYi nodded in agreement.

"Lieutenant Zhao is not one who takes lightly to being scorned or overlooked."

"He sounds petty," Shun criticized him. Tiki blinked up at him.

"It's unusual for you to insult anyone, Shun," she noted, her gray eyes large as she surveyed him. Shun, realizing she was right, ran a hand over his mouth and stubbly chin.

"You're right, I'm sorry," he apologized to the table at large. The giant waterbender was not exactly sure what came over him; it was rare that he ever felt hostility towards anyone who did not warrant it. It was just… something about the way Lieutenant Zhao called ZanYi 'Princess' rubbed him the wrong way. He didn't like it, and he didn't like Zhao.

"Don't be," ZanYi told him, waving it off with a hand. Syaoran nodded.

"The guy looks like he deserves it," Syaoran noted and ZanYi smirked.

"Something like that." ZanYi then sighed, ending the sound with a small growl. "However, it seems him and his troop were sent as the AKs replacements here in Omashu, so we're going to have to make the best of it for the week. And this is your warning now," the lieutenant stood up a bit straighter and looked each of the three individually in the eyes as she spoke her cautionary tale, "Do not confront him and do not start anything. If there's a problem, come to me."

The last thing she wanted was any of them in an altercation with the bitter man. They should all know playing with fire was not a smart thing to do. Syaoran knew that definitely, and despite his outlook on the man, he was smart enough to want to heed it. So he nodded.

"Not even a few harmless pranks?" Tiki asked, dismay etched into her features. She understood that this Zhao guy was probably dangerous, but what was wrong with poking some fun at him every now and then?

Shun reached over and ruffled Tiki's hair.

"Teeks, for once, do as you're told," he urged her. Tiki pouted, but she nodded. Shun, however, could distinguish the words 'no fun' from the airbender as she mumbled under her breath. Syaoran certainly hoped Tiki would listen for once. From what he just saw and what his teacher was saying, Lieutenant Zhao was not a man to be crossing. And he knew as well as everyone else at that table that something Tiki excelled at was crossing people. But between him and Shun, hopefully they could avoid a confrontation.

His jade eyes watched the rigid gait of ZanYi. She had already seemed to be in a less pleasant mood, but now it seemed downright irritable. He could only hope that they would be able to survive the passing week with the two lieutenants at the same camp.

But even Syaoran knew by this point that was hoping for too much.

* * *

Tiki waited around the corner for the approaching Lieutenant Zhao, silently fuming.

She didn't care what ZanYi said anymore about not confronting this guy: she had been crossed by him for the last time. There was only so many times in so many days that she could hear the words "You're in the way, Pipsqueak!" without snapping!

So as the 'admirable' Lieutenant Zhao was heading her way, she had rigged one of the oldest pranks in the book: there was a bucket of water held up by a rope she was clinging to, as well as a second bucket of flour held up by a heavy rock nearby. As soon as Zhao walked under her buckets, Tiki was going to unleash her very own brand of 'pipsqueak' fury on him. It had taken her an effort to shake Shun to do this, so she was going to make the most of what little alone time she had.

"Any second now…" Tiki murmured to herself, clutching the rope tightly. It was taking most of her strength not to go airborne from the weight of the bucket, but it was better than the heavier bucket of flour she had held down by a rock.

She could hear the heavy footsteps come down the hall. Singularly, Lieutenant Zhao was making his way towards the trap, completely unawares. Just as he was about to turn the corner, it all came apart.

When the water soaked him, Zhao froze unhappily, dampened. That was not a pleasant feeling for any firebender. But the flour that coated him soon after was what shifted the unhappiness to rage. Whiter than white, he rounded the corner and found the little airbender. His eyes grew wide with anger.

"What do you think you're doing, runt?" he roared. Without any hesitation, he launched a load of fire at Tiki's feet, just the first warning shot.

Tiki jumped, letting out a yelp. She summoned a small air tornado and blew Zhao back a couple feet. "Can't you take a joke?" she protested, stomping her foot in irritation. "And you had it coming! If I've told you once, I've told you a gazillion times: my name is NOT Pipsqueak!" Tiki took a defensive position, ready to bend at a moment's notice. It may have just been an inkling, but the tiny airbender was beginning to feel as if she had just gotten in way over her head.

Lieutenant Zhao, however, did not find any amusement in her jokes. As if he cared what her name was or her motives. With a dark look on his face, he let out a monstrous sound. With swift movements, the man sent a large slice of flames down the hall, and he proceeded after it.

Coming up to Tiki, he grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up, hand pulled back in flames. "Now listen here, Pipsqueak," he said lowly, a slow sneer spreading across his mouth. "Don't ever try that again, or I will personally ensure that you spend the rest of your days burned beyond recognition." He dropped the airbender on her behind, and with one last menacing look, Lieutenant Zhao continued on his way, leaving Tiki behind alone.

Tiki was breathing heavily, her small chest heaving. That had been way too close. All that over a little flour? Tiki thought it was an improvement, considering the scowl that seemed permanent on his features…

"Teeks."

Tiki froze. The voice that said her name was familiar—and there was only one person who called her 'Teeks'—but there was a certain way the voice sounded that made her feel… uneasy.

The tiny airbender dared to look behind her, and instantly regretted it: Shun was looking down on her with a smile so bright it was blinding. There was also a telltale vein pulsing in his temple. Tiki gulped. "Uh… H-hey, Shun. Uh, how long have you been—?"

"Just long enough to see that you directly disobeyed ZanYi's orders," Shun answered before Tiki could finish asking, and she paled. She was in deep trouble.

"Shun," Tiki began, but with a speed Tiki had no idea he possessed, Shun swooped her up by the back of her collar and tossed her over his shoulder.

"Let's go see Lieutenant Tsong, shall we?" he asked her as he looked over his shoulder, still smiling brightly. Tiki's look of horror did nothing to deter him as he strode off down the hall.

"Shun, are you trying to get me killed?!"

"You almost got yourself killed, Teeks. Personally, I think a nice, long scolding from Lieutenant Tsong will do you good."

"That's the same as getting me killed!"

"Oh, look at that: you get your death wish after all."

Tiki shut her mouth, shivering. Shun was angry with her, and soon, ZanYi would be too. Maybe she really should have thought things through before she decided to take matters into her own hands.

When the duo barged into her temporary office, ZanYi looked up from her work with mild surprise on her face. However, when she noted Shun's odd disposition and Tiki slung over his shoulder, quivering, ZanYi sighed. Looking to the two officers flanking her over her work, she said, "We'll continue this later. You are dismissed."

Once the two soldiers had left the room, ZanYi stood, and put her hands on her sides. Her lips were pursed and her expression speculative.

"Do I want to know what happened?" she asked carefully, looking from Shun to Tiki.

As an answer, Shun placed Tiki on the only other chair in ZanYi's office. Tiki made to get up, but Shun held her down with a firm hand.

"Go on, Tiki," Shun urged the tiny airbender, "tell the lieutenant what you've been up to."

"Um," Tiki began with a pleading look up at Shun. When Shun kept his face impassive, Tiki sighed in defeat. "I… kind of… covered Lieutenant Zhao in flour," she said in a rush, as if getting the confession out quickly would lessen her punishment. Her gray eyes squeezed shut, bracing herself for the angry tirade that was sure to be ZanYi's wrath.

"You did what?"

ZanYi's eyes went from Tiki, to Shun, and back. And considering the guilty look on the airbender's face, plus the expression of severity on Shun's, the lieutenant knew it was true. And that was not fantastic news.

The woman strode from her desk to her window and was silent for a few minutes. When she turned back to Tiki, her expression was grave. "I told you—ordered you not to cross him," she reminded harshly. ZanYi slammed her hands down on her desk, gaze trained on Tiki. "Do you realize what could have happened? Lieutenant Zhao is dangerous and deadly. Not everyone has the patience of Shun or the control of myself."

ZanYi walked around the desk to lean against the front of it, crossing her arms. "I'm glad to see you're not burned anywhere, so he must have been in a better mood. But do _not_, and I will repeat, do _**not **_go near him again. He will hurt you, Tiki, and have no qualms about it. I can only do so much."

Tiki groaned and hid her face in her hands.

"I know, I'm sorry," she apologized, her voice muffled through her fingers. "It's just… it seemed funny at the time—"

"Lots of things always seem like good ideas in the moment," Shun said quietly. "What you need to realize, Tiki, is that people tell you to do certain things because they're looking out for your well-being—not to be killjoys."

Tiki squirmed uncomfortably. It was bad enough getting scolded by ZanYi, but Shun's quiet reproving of her was even worse. It made her feel like she used to while being scolded by her parents: that she should have known better and was behaving childishly. It was the worst feeling ever knowing that people who expected better of her were disappointed in her.

ZanYi looked at the younger female with careful amber eyes. She knew the airbender's temperament and the lieutenant should have expected this to happen, despite her warning. "Just stay clear of Lieutenant Zhao for a couple more days. We're halfway through and then hopefully you won't ever have to deal with him again, Tiki."

A knock came on the door and it slowly creaked open, Syaoran peeking his head inside. "Hey, I'm here for training…" His announcement trailed as he found Shun and Tiki in the room, the latter of the two looking very uncharacteristically down. "What happened?"

"Lieutenant Zhao," ZanYi answered simply, and Syaoran frowned. He had hoped things would not get worse than they already were—tensions had already been running high for the last few days. "Syaoran," she beckoned and his attention snapped back to her, "why don't you walk with Tiki back to the barracks?"

"Sure..." Syaoran nodded, the word drawn out slowly as he looked then to Tiki, "Let's go, Tiki."

Tiki slid off the chair, eyes on the ground as she followed Syaoran out of the room. She could not have been happier to leave the oppressive room, but the long walk back to the barracks seemed like a walk of shame to her.

Shun began to follow before it occurred to him that ZanYi may have wanted to talk to him alone. He turned to her, looking sheepish.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have let her out of my sight. She said she had to use the bathroom so I let her go… but when she didn't come back after a few minutes, I went looking for her. I showed up just in time to see the flour fly… and to see Zhao threaten her."

Shun looked down and was surprised to find that his fists were clenched. He loosened them immediately and took a deep, even breath. Now was not the time to get angry, especially after ZanYi had just told Tiki off for harassing Zhao. Shun needed his patience now more than ever.

"No, I understand, Shun," ZanYi surprisingly said, exhaling in frustration. "Tiki is… Tiki." And while that sounded redundant, it was explanation enough for the two of them. She unwrapped her arms and sat her hands at the edge of her desk, holding herself against it.

"Flour…" she repeated, a tiny smirk on the corner of her lips. ZanYi would have loved to see the state of Zhao as it all hit him. She let out a brief snicker now that the airebender was gone and would not get the wrong idea. Looking back to Shun, she sobered and inquired, "What did Zhao say to her?"

ZanYi's voice was tense, and her face was serious. She had to know what exactly he said. While Tiki was not an AK, and ZanYi was not particularly fond of her, the girl was hers. And as long as Team Avatar was under her responsibility, she was not about to let anyone touch them, and especially not Zhao.

Shun's expression darkened.

"He told her that if she ever pulled a stunt like that again, that he'd burn her beyond recognition." The words left a foul taste in his mouth, and he spat them out as if the horrible taste would leave his mouth along with the words. It was all he had not go after Zhao after he threatened to burn Tiki's skin off. Starting a fight with a lieutenant that had yet to actually _do_ anything would not have been a smart idea.

This served not to help ZanYi's mood at all. In fact, it served to infuriate her. She slammed a fist against the desk. ZanYi could not even verbalize what she was thinking at that moment.

Zhao had openly threatened one of her own—a little girl. Tiki may be a troublemaker, but her prank was relatively harmless. It was enough to warrant yelling at her, not to threaten to burn her alive.

"I need you to watch out for the other two. Leave Zhao to me."

"Of course," Shun agreed. He hesitated a moment before adding, "but if he tries anything against Syaoran or Tiki, I do have permission to defend them to the best of my ability without repercussions, don't I?"

Shun did not like the thought of having to be inactive while Lieutenant Zhao was around, but at the same time, he didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble for ZanYi. He felt better asking for her permission to act rather than having to apologize for his actions later.

"If he tries anything, absolutely."

There was no hesitation in ZanYi's voice. She was quite confident that Shun would be able to do that too. The man seemed to have quite the protective streak, which the lieutenant knew from personal experience. "But hopefully you won't have to," ZanYi continued, pushing off of her desk. She quickly started putting things away on her desk, straightening up. Slipping her military jacket on, she looked to Shun, a convicted fire in her gaze. "I'm going to make sure of that."

Shun's eyebrows raised. "Now?" he questioned, recognizing that look in her eyes. Trouble was brewing; he could sense it. "You're not going to challenge him alone, are you?"

Shun had faith in ZanYi's fighting abilities, but he could not deny that he was worried for her. He would feel a lot better if she had Zaron going with her, or even one of the AKs. Anyone was better than her challenging a volatile lieutenant—who clearly had a problem with her already—on her own.

"Of course I am," ZanYi told him, as if that were obvious. "No one messes with any member of my team, and that includes Lieutenant Zhao. I fight my own battles." She looked at Shun, and she was already getting a sense of what was going through his head, just by looking at the expression on his face. "Is there a problem with that, Shun Jiang?"

A corner of Shun's mouth turned down. He knew she was challenging him, and he didn't like it because that forced him in between a rock and a hard place. If he went with her, it meant he was infringing upon her authority, but if he didn't, it meant there was a good chance ZanYi was going to get hurt. Badly, if Lieutenant Zhao's attitude was any indication.

"I don't know about this, ZanYi," he began, rubbing his chin as he thought. "I've seen you in action, and I know you can fight…but Zhao is malicious. I don't—" Shun paused, troubled, and then sighed. This was not going to get him anywhere. "If you get hurt," Shun qualified, "will you please come to me as soon as possible? I can ask this much of you, can't I?"

ZanYi watched the man as he came up with his final verdict. She'd also watched him struggle through to the decision. So when he made that one request of her, ZanYi complied. "I will," she said to him. "Not that it's going to happen though." The firebender smirked as she went to the door. Hand on the knob, ZanYi turned back to Shun, full of confidence, fuel, and fire. "Just trust me to take care of this. I've dealt with Zhao before, and I'll do it again."

At her brimming confidence, Shun just had to smile. Typical ZanYi. How could he not believe that she would excel in everything she did?

"I do. Trust you, that is," he told her, covering her hand with his as he twisted the doorknob for her and opened the door. "After you," he said, gesturing to the hall with a flourish. He just prayed that, the next time he saw her, her battle scars would not be too heavy… even if she was victorious.

* * *

**A/N from DJ: Things are about to get heated up in here! Next chapter is going to be a hot one. Like my puns? I certainly do xD Also, Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I, for one, am a huge fan of the holiday, because it's a day to put aside and remind yourself and others how much you love the people in your life. So, as an appreciation to you readers, we decided to update today instead of tomorrow! I know it's not much, but it's what we can do~ And now, as we move onward to the responses:**

**Japaneserockergirl: We like to have a mix of funny and drama, so I'm glad you're finding it as amusing as we did! As for the love triangles... this group knows how to make things messy xP Then again, as you'll see throughout, nothing this group does is ever simple and clean xD**

**Wiechcheu1925: So good to hear from you, and you bring up a point we knew someone was bound to bring up eventually. To say that Syaoran is the main character would be inaccurate; he's _a_ main character. Of course, in the actual series, the Avatar is the focal point of the show. However, we are writers who love the supporting cast and want to explore this realm from so many viewpoints. "The Warring Earth" is a planned series, consisting of four books. Each book has a different focus, and you get to learn and understand each of the characters a bit more, why they are who they are and what they will become. This isn't just a story about an Avatar; this is the story of four people thrown together and how they become a team and a family. So yes, Syaoran doesn't have much focus right now, and other characters will dominate parts sometimes. But that's because this story is one about relationships, through love, family, friendship, and teamwork. I know this probably isn't the answer you were seeking, but I hope that you will still stay with us on this journey, because I can assure you, the best is yet to come.**

**Mz. Jinky: I see the Tiki-bias showing! That's awesome, because she's quite the character. All I will say on that homefront is that Tiki has a lot in store for her as the story progresses, and your wait will be worth it :]**

**Phew! I wrote a lot xP So, that's all for now. Read. Laugh. Enjoy. Review. The usual. Can't wait to hear from you all again and we'll see you next Friday!**


	13. The Agni-Kai

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire**

**By Twins of the Pen**

**Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

* * *

After Syaoran and Tiki had left the office, the earthbender couldn't help but be bothered with how quiet Tiki was. It was uncomfortable. "Hey, you okay, Tiki?" he asked, peering over at the small airbender. "He didn't hurt you, did he?" Jade eyes scoured all over her. Syaoran was satisfied when he didn't find any burns—though perhaps Shun had already gotten to them; the waterbender had been in the office as well.

Tiki shook her head, keeping her silence. The fear Zhao instilled in her still lingered, and she kept quite close to Syaoran. She would hate to run into Lieutenant Zhao again, now that she was vulnerable.

Syaoran found this even more peculiar. His gaze kept on the girl, as if trying to decipher what was going through her head. "You know Lieutenant Tsong and Shun are going to make sure nothing else happens, right?" he informed her as they moved through the halls. "And I've got your back too."

It was odd how the four of them were shaping up. Despite all of the bickering and annoyances—which there certainly were plenty—it was like they were starting to become a team. Syaoran supposed close proximity would do that to people.

Tiki looked up at Syaoran, her gray eyes searching his face, as if expecting to catch some misgiving on his face. But she found none, and that flooded her with a feeling she had not felt in a long time. Tiki had almost forgotten what it felt like to be cared about. "Thank you," she said quietly, lowering her eyes again because she was ashamed to find that her eyes were becoming wet. She did not want to cry now, because her tears made no sense. She wasn't sad; she was happy. It would be ridiculous for her to cry right now.

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled. But then he looked down to find Tiki had looked away again. She sounded a little stuffed up. And the last thing he wanted was Tiki to start bawling again. "Hey!" he interjected as a warning, ruffling Tiki's hair as he knocked her head away from him a bit. "Don't get emotional on me. It's not that big of a deal."

Tiki nodded stiffly, sniffling a little. "It is to me," she admitted, pushing the moisture out of her eyes. "The last time anyone cared enough to even scold me was about ten years ago. And that was when my parents were still around." Miraculously, Tiki's tears disappeared. Her eyes were quite dry when she met Syaoran's eyes again. "The only person that's been looking out for me for the last ten years is me. So when people say that they have my back—and they mean it—I'm gonna tear up a little." Tiki managed a genuine smile that was tinged with her usual mischief. "I guess that's why I'm always getting into trouble. I never think of anyone but myself."

Syaoran mulled over all of that, and eyes rested on her smile. It was not the same as her usual misdeeds. On the whole, for a brief moment, she looked like a cute kid. But clearly, that was not the case. Come to think of it, Syaoran pondered, this was the first time she had really talked about her family.

"Well, I guess it comes from being an only child," he suggested, not delving into the issue of her parents. Everyone knew they had essentially disappeared off of the planet. No need to drive the thorn deeper into her side.

"Maybe," Tiki replied with a shrug. "That's what people say anyway. Personally, I've never been close to anyone else who was an only child, so it may be just me. I was spoiled… still am, actually."

Tiki briefly wondered why she was talking about all this. She had never delved into her past like this before. What was it about Syaoran that made her feel safe enough to speak about the most painful part of her past? Tiki didn't know. She wasn't even entirely sure if she even liked it. But she figured at least someone other than her should know.

"You asked me once if I had ever followed an order without breaking any rules. Well, I have, once: the night my parents were taken, my mom gave me one more order before she shoved me out the window. She told me to run, to get away and never look back. So I ran. I saved myself. And I never went back. I watched as men in masks took my parents away… and I haven't seen them since. I was nine."

Tiki's voice was very quiet by the time she finished her story. She tried not to relive the experience, but it was all there in her head: the panic in her parent's faces, the booms and angry voices in her home, the way her parents were kidnapped, as if they were helpless…

The tears didn't come this time. Tiki had spent the first couple of years after the incident crying about it, so it seemed that she had no more tears to shed about it. It was painful remembering—it always was—but Tiki could not find it in herself to cry about it anymore. Tears would not bring her parents back to her. She knew that.

Syaoran couldn't quite look at her as she talked. This almost seemed like an information overload. To have Tiki this serious for this long was fairly disorientating and Syaoran found himself bothered by it. "I'm sorry," he pulled together, quite able to mean it. Ransik had once told them there was no one that was not touched in some way by the war. He hadn't thought much about it at the time, but to find Tiki even had been hurt by it was saying something. It made him think of his own family. "I haven't seen my family since I got out of the concentration camps." Syaoran knew this was obvious, since he been roped into this right after his escape, but he was not sure what else to say. "Dad, Mom, and little sister."

And he had no idea where they were or what had happened to them since. It was safe to assume they had not escaped, but Syaoran was certain his escape and his newfound abilities as the Avatar probably had consequences for them.

Syaoran hated the thought of that.

So the Avatar was quite happy to find them at the barracks at last. "Well, here you go, Tiki. I walked you back. So go meditate or take a nap or something. Anything to keep you out of trouble."

Tiki stuck her tongue out at Syaoran, but smiled immediately after.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be good from now on. See you later then. And… thank you again."

Feeling embarrassed for a reason she could not quite place, Tiki disappeared into the building, heading straight for Team Avatar's quarters. That nap sounded really good about now, and Tiki was willing to have a couple hours of oblivion to get rid of this weird funk she was currently in.

* * *

It did not take long to find Lieutenant Zhao. Soon after ZanYi had left her office, she headed to the next floor to where she knew he was set up. And she did not bother knocking. Barging in, ZanYi found Lieutenant Zhao seated at his desk, flanked by a few of his soldiers.

"Ah, Princess! What a surprise."

"We need to talk."

Zhao gave his men a particular look and a waving hand, signaling them to make their way out. They shot ZanYi curious glances as they did so, but she paid them no heed. Once she heard the door click, she stood there in silence, matching the stare she was receiving.

"To what do I owe such royal company?" he jeered with a sneer. However, the comment did not faze her.

"You know exactly why I'm here," ZanYi told him. As she sauntered over to his desk, she quirked a brow and smirked. "Does flour ring any bells?"

That got the reaction she wanted, because Zhao's sneer started to falter. "What do you want?"

"I want you to back off," ZanYi quickly replied, leaning her hands forward to rest on his desk. She looked him in the eye, fierce and fiery. "That little girl may not be an AK, but she is one of mine. You mess with her, you mess with me, so I suggest you back off before you get what's coming to you."

Lieutenant Zhao stood from his seat and ZanYi straightened herself. He peered down at her as he walked around the desk to stand by her. "You don't order me around, Princess. I'll do what I please."

"Ever considered that's why you didn't get my position?"

He stepped closer, the two staring off at each other. "You got that because of your heritage, because they pity you for what happened to your parents. Tell me again, what happened to them?"

ZanYi took another step closer to him, eyes more full of anger now. "You're picking a fight you can't win, Zhao."

"That's what you think, Princess." Lieutenant Zhao closed the remaining space between them and their bodies pressed against each other. ZanYi stood there unflinchingly, and Zhao stared down at her, upset with a side of cocky. "Things won't end like last time."

"No, you'll end up even worse off than last time," ZanYi corrected him. She pushed him back away from her and made her way towards the door. Looking back one last time, ZanYi last remarked, "Remember that, Zhao. Don't cross my team again, or I will make you regret it."

With that, ZanYi left the office. And it was as she walked down the hallway, she heard a loud grumble of aggravation and what sounded like something crashing and burning within the room. ZanYi smirked.

* * *

"Where is Shun?" Tiki asked, glancing around. She and Syaoran were already eating dinner, but ZanYi was nowhere in sight and, surprisingly, neither was Shun.

"What's up?" Shun asked, appearing just as Tiki glanced back at the entrance to the mess hall. His hair was out of its usual ponytail and dripping wet, and his face was clean-shaven. Shun had just finished bathing and grooming.

"Just curious as to where you were," Tiki said, but Shun wasn't listening; now it was his turn to glance around the room, as if he were searching for someone.

"Has anyone seen ZanYi?" Shun wanted to check, looking between Tiki and Syaoran. Tiki merely shrugged; she hadn't seen the lieutenant since the older woman had scolded her.

Syaoran shrugged as well. "I haven't seen her since we left her office earlier," he told the waterbender. He noticed the searching eye he held and Syaoran frowned then. "Why? Do you need to see her?" He personally hadn't been too concerned. After all, the AKs had had their training, though his own private lessons had been derailed today. Still, it was quite normal for him not to see her outside of that. But the way Shun was looking around had him a little worried.

"…I guess not," Shun replied after a moment's consideration. "The fact that I haven't seen her might be good news…"

"What's going on?" Tiki asked, also picking up on the strange way Shun seemed to be searching almost desperately for the lieutenant. Shun shook his head.

"Nothing," he denied, getting up again. As he went to grab a tray of food from the cook, Tiki turned to Syaoran.

"He's so lying," she said immediately. "The question is why?" What did Shun need from ZanYi all of a sudden? What could have happened between the time she left the giant waterbender in ZanYi's office to dinner tonight?

"I don't know," Syaoran mumbled, looking around the room himself. No matter where he looked, he could not even find a glimpse of the lieutenant. Which was not entirely surprising, again.

But then he noticed something interesting.

"Huh," Syaoran mused, looking around the room. Almost all of the regiments were eating dinner at that time as well—the cooks had cut down the time allotted for fresh dinner. "I don't see that other lieutenant here either…"

Tiki's large gray eyes grew larger.

"Uh-oh," she said, her voice lowering. "You don't think something happened, do you?"

ZanYi said to leave Zhao to her… What if she had gotten into a fight with the unpleasant man on Tiki's behalf? The thought made the tiny airbender's insides twist with guilt, and she suddenly wasn't very hungry anymore. She set down her fork just as Shun came back with his tray of food. He picked up on her half-eaten tray and lowered mood, but said nothing, since his mind was full of his own concerns at the moment. Syaoran, on the other hand, was not completely content to say nothing. So he looked to the other man in their midst. "Shun, where's Lieutenant Tsong? Do you know something?" he asked.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a few of the new firebenders—the ones from Zhao's unit—seem to receive a message, as they were thoroughly intent on listening to their comms. Syaoran watched as they got up and left, and the feeling in his stomach only churned more. Shun noticed the same movement, and he did not like it any more than Syaoran did. He frowned, thinking hard before he finally responded to Syaoran's question.

"All I know," he began, "is that she was intent on setting Zhao straight, once and for all. I thought it was finished earlier, after I left her office… but maybe it wasn't." Shun's eyes followed a few AKs that were leaving the mess hall now. His frown deepened. "I don't think it's finished at all," he finished quietly.

"Well, what are we sitting here for then?" Tiki asked, slamming her palms down on the table and leaping to her feet. "Obviously there's something going on, so let's go while the getting's good!"

Syaoran was already inclined to agree, but when he saw more soldiers scurrying out, it cemented his decision. He rose to his feet, leaving his meal sitting on the table alone. "If Lieutenant Tsong is messed up in something with Lieutenant Zhao, we need to go. If anything, you need to be there, Shun. Someone's gonna get burned, and we both know she won't get help if she doesn't want it."

Shrun rolled his eyes uncharacteristically.

"Too true," he agreed, rushing with Syaoran and Tiki after the others soldiers that had just scrambled out of the mess hall as if it were on fire. "But if the worst is actually happening, I really want to see what Sergeant Major Tsong will do to Lieutenant Zhao if he's nearby."

"Ooooh," Tiki grinned widely, "this is gonna be _good_."

* * *

Several of the soldiers had gathered out in the yard for a good reason. After all, it was not every day two lieutenants fought an Agni-Kai, apparently. When Syaoran reached the scene, sun setting overhead, he meandered on through the horde of stiff soldiers to find ZanYi and Zhao in the middle of it all. The air was tense; he could even tell between the soldiers who was rooting for who. The AKs stared down at Zhao's men, and vice-versa.

But then he looked to ZanYi. Her jacket had long been discarded, burnt and torn, strands of hair loose around her face. Zhao had also lost his jacket, and his shirt had several holes and burns. Both were panting, but the difference was their faces.

While Lieutenant Zhao was focused and dark, ZanYi was focused and on her game, a smirk fluttering on her lips. "You'll have to do better than that, Zhao," she taunted. His face scrunched in anger as he rushed forward, hands blazing.

ZanYi dodged quickly each of the blasts and jumped up, swirling down a kick of fire. It narrowly missed him. But his sudden fire slice did scrape by her. It seared her arm and she had to tumble to land back on her feet, wincing.

"How about that, Princess?"

ZanYi did not take kindly to that and used her swift motions to leap forward and burn his chest with a square punch. Zhao flew back and hit the ground. As he rose back up, he saw ZanYi sneer at him. "No, more like that."

Shun, who had followed after Syaoran with Tiki in tow, took one look at the scene before him and sighed. ZanYi and Zhao were fighting an Agni-Kai. Of course. A quick assessment of the two showed that ZanYi was winning because she had the less injuries, but that certainly did not make them any less severe. And Zhao's attitude was getting worse with every strike ZanYi landed. Shun could tell that Zhao would not let this go, even if ZanYi won. The week dealing with the other lieutenant and his men was not passing by fast enough.

"I don't see Zaron anywhere!" Tiki called up to him, jumping up and down to search the crowd and not seeing the object of her affections present at the Agni-Kai. She watched as Zhao scorched ZanYi again, and she winced. "I'm gonna go look for him!" Tiki decided, darting out from the crowd and back into one of the nearby buildings.

"Tiki!" Shun called after her, but she was already gone. Shun turned his eyes back to the Agni-Kai, troubled. Zaron would definitely not be pleased with this news, but if he stepped in, ZanYi would be even more unhappy. Shun knew that Tiki believed that she was doing ZanYi a favor, but the giant waterbender was not exactly sure how much that 'favor' would be appreciated in the end. He could only watch from the sidelines with Syaoran, anxious hands clutching his canteen.

This was a battle of pride. And if anyone interrupted, it would be at their own peril.

It was then that Zhao let out a monstrous roar and leapt back to his feet. ZanYi grit her teeth. If she did not end this soon, this was going to get really ugly. She raced forward to strike from underneath, giving him a solid uppercut to his jaw line. As Zhao flew back, he breathed fire at her, the heat as strong as his howl.

ZanYi danced around the flames, only managing a burn on one leg. Zhao glared at her from afar. "You can't keep dodging forever," he told her, and ZanYi knew the words rang true. Neither of them could keep up the heat for much longer, and more people were gathering. It was not going to be long before Team Avatar would show up—though they could already be there and she not know it—and before her brother would show up—and she would definitely know when he arrived. But she could not check and look. Zhao was becoming farther and farther gone.

"Drop this now, Zhao," she told him, rising to her full stature.

Zhao rose back up, haggard but impulsively upset. "Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" he barked. "Always getting your way, Little Princess. Even when you don't deserve it! Your parents didn't deserve the credit they got either!"

"Shut-up." ZanYi flew at him, a flurry of fiery kicks and thrusts. Zhao ended back up on his butt, and she stood over him in silent, controlled fury. "My parents did more than an imbecile like you would ever amount to. You're out of control, Zhao!"

The man pushed her back and she flipped to land on her feet. When she looked at him again, she saw hate in his gaze, venom. And then he started to unravel. And when he unraveled, people were going to be hurt. So when Zhao pushed out an expansive wave of heat and flames, ZanYi did not avoid it. Instead, she took it head on. ZanYi put her arms up and took the hit, then twisted her arms outward to dispel the flames. Zhao lunged forward to punch her in the gut, a bit of blood expelling from her lip as she flew back.

Syaoran found it difficult to stay on the sidelines, despite knowing it was the best place for him. "This isn't good…" he muttered, watching as ZanYi started to fight back, her flames shifting in color, from vibrant reds to deep blues. His teacher was doing her best to keep her hottest flames down, but Zhao was not making it easy.

Shun was gripping his canteen so hard that he actually felt it beginning to splinter under his fingers. He hastily dropped it back to his side, choosing to ball his hands into fists instead. "We can't do anything right now," he reminded the Avatar, sounding every bit as frustrated as Syaoran looked. "If we interrupt, ZanYi—"

"There, Zaron, look! That brute is messing with your sister!"

Shun didn't know if he was just attuned to Tiki's voice or if she was actually just that loud—probably both—but when he turned to find Tiki rushing over to them with Zaron in tow, Shun had never been so happy to see either of them. Sure, ZanYi would probably be unhappy that her fight was being cut short, but it was already escalating to dangerous heights. "That was quick," he commented when Tiki returned to his side. She beamed and gave him a victory sign.

"When it comes to finding handsome men, my Hottie Radar is unmatched!" she proclaimed. If Shun was not already sick with worry over ZanYi, he would have laughed.

Zaron, however, was far too distracted by the main attraction. When Tiki had hounded him to come out there, he was not pleased, and it was only her affiliation with the Avatar that had kept him from kicking her out. But now he understood her urgency. This was not just any Agni-Kai, and his sister was not facing any lieutenant. "Zhao…" he muttered under his breath, as if it were a curse word. Loud and direct, he called out, "ZanYi!"

It was enough to break her concentration to look to where her brother stood by Tiki, Shun, and Syaoran, which was not a good combination. Zhao took that instant of hesitation to shoot her down, a strong kick of fire landing solidly on her. ZanYi fell back with a muted cry and hit the ground. Zaron started to see red, and he was about to storm out there to finish this himself when arms stayed him on both sides.

"Our apologies, Sergeant Major," one AK said, his grasp firm.

"Direct orders from Lieutenant Tsong not to allow anyone to interfere," said the other AK, his voice tinged with regret. Syaoran could tell it did not please her soldiers either to just stand by and watch their leader get hit with the stinging blows. Zaron hated it. He struggled against them, about to strike when his sister's voice pierced through.

"Stay back, Zar!" ZanYi demanded, rising back to her feet, standing proud and tall.

She heard Zhao scoff, his hair ruffled every which way, combat-worn. "Of course you royals would stick together. Gang up and bully everyone else when you start to fall behind!"

Zaron bristled and raged against the AKs at his sides. "ZanYi!"

"No!" she told him firmly. "This is my fight. It was my team he messed with, Zaron, not yours! And he will learn never to do that again." Her eyes never left Zhao's face as she said those words. And they stayed focused there as ZanYi pounced forward. Her speed unmatched, her blows quick and precise as she punched and kicked the man. Zhao swung a fiery arm wildly, embers going every which way. Soldiers jumped back.

But before he could do much more, he heard a sharp crackle and saw a bright white light. Lightning struck through his body and flew him back, hitting the ground flat. ZanYi rushed over to stand over him, panting hard, battle scorned, her hands at the ready over him. The lightning was just enough to impair him, not kill him, and the man looked up weakly at ZanYi as she glared over him. "Never come anywhere near any of my soldiers or my team again, or I will ensure that you don't get back up again."

"...Whoa," Tiki breathed, eyes wide as she watched ZanYi's AKs storm over to congratulate her on winning the Agni-Kai, Zhao down for the count. "That was _so_ cool! I've never seen anyone shoot lightning up close before!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," Shun said quietly. He felt rather than saw Tiki's alarm as she looked up at him, but he was too busy watching ZanYi to return the airbender's gaze.

"I didn't mean it like that," she rushed to correct herself, only realizing just now how her words sounded, "I meant… well, you know what I meant! Syaoran," she suddenly addressed the Avatar, "help me out here!"

Shun quietly noted to himself that Tiki would probably not find the help she was seeking from Syaoran, who had to have been as worried—if not more—than Shun had been as he could only watch ZanYi's fight from the sidelines. But both of their concerns were most likely nothing compared to Zaron's; he had to actually be deterred by ZanYi's soldiers from entering the battle. Now _that_ had to be frustrating.

Syaoran said nothing, his eyes never leaving ZanYi. What she had done was just incredible, just like Tiki had been babbling about it. But it was also frightening, and he understood why only the advanced AKs were permitted to the training sessions with that. No matter what Zhao may think or say, Syaoran knew that his teacher had earned every bit of authority she had.

Zaron, however, could no longer stand still. Shoving away from the AKs, he pushed through the crowd to reach his sister. Not that there was much pushing; the sea parted at the sight of the sergeant major. He found ZanYi and her gaze found his. His were filled with relief and anger; hers held confidence and strength.

"I had no choice, Zar," she told him instead of an apology. "I tried talking to him and it didn't work. He struck me on my way to dinner."

Zaron looked furiously away to the lieutenant sprawled out on the ground, now very close to unconsciousness. "Get him out of my sight. Now." His words were eerily deadly, and Zhao's soldiers quickly moved their fallen leader out of the field, presumably to take him to the healers. He looked back to his sister and his eyes fell over her blood, cuts and burns. ZanYi was roughed up, but it was because she still was standing that he wasn't going back to kill Zhao.

"Everyone, return to your routines," ZanYi called out to her AKs, and the soldiers seemed reluctant to leave her. She scoffed and clapped a few on their shoulders. "I said get out of here," she urged with a smirk. Eventually they all pulled away, leaving just the Tsongs, Shun, Tiki, and Syaoran there.

Tiki breathed a sigh of relief now that some of the tension in the air had been released with the dispersal of the crowd.

"Okay, Shun, now's your chance to do your—huh?" Tiki sputtered, realizing a second too late that she was talking to air. The tiny airbender turned to find Shun heading back to the barracks. Confused, she rushed after him. "Hey, wait a second! Aren't you going to heal ZanYi?" Tiki asked, frowning up at the giant waterbender. He consented to pause, but did not look down at her.

"No," he replied, causing Tiki to balk at him. "ZanYi's with her brother right now, and I imagine this conversation will last a while. In the meantime, I'm gonna go refill my canteen."

"But I thought…" Tiki's voice trailed away as Shun continued into the barracks building. Frowning thoughtfully, Tiki returned to Syaoran's side, abnormally quiet as she thought. "Shun's canteen is already full," she said, partially talking to herself. But then she turned to Syaoran. "Do you think Shun's mad at ZanYi? This isn't like him, is it?"

Contrary to what Tiki had surmised, Shun was not angry at ZanYi. He was very worried about her. But she had promised him she would come to him to be healed as soon as possible, and he was going to hold her to that. He had trusted her to be able to handle Zhao on her own, so he had to further that trust by having her keep her promise. That could not be achieved if he was already waiting for her on the sidelines. She would have to come to find him.

"Shun!"

Shun turned at the sound of his name, and tried to hide his disappointment when he saw that it was only Sikka.

"What's up, Sikka?"

"Did Lieutenant Tsong _really_ take Lieutenant Zhao down like everyone's saying?" she asked, a fevered light in her eyes. Shun noted once again how word seemed to travel fast around the base.

"It's true," he assured her. A grin broke out on the waterbending woman's face.

"_Perfect._ …Oh, don't get the wrong idea," she rushed to say, suddenly self-conscious, "I'm not usually this bloodthirsty, but I'd be lying if I said Zhao didn't get what was coming to him. You should hear him all the time; he's so condescending—"

"Sikka," Ransik called from a few feet away, where a couple healers were gathered around Zhao with Ransik supervising. "We kind of need you over here."

"Oh… I should go," Sikka remarked, and Shun noticed she sounded almost disappointed. He couldn't blame her; he wouldn't want to be the one called in to heal Zhao either.

"Leave a burn or two. It won't kill him," Shun leaned in to whisper conspiratorially. Sikka giggled, her face turning red.

"We can't do that! It's a tempting thought, but it would make him all the more unpleasant."

"Good point."

"_Sikka,_" Ransik called again, this time sounding impatient. Sikka gave a wink to Shun before rushing back over to her work. Shun waved at Ransik, who for some reason ignored him, and then continued on his way through the barracks. The thought that not many other people could stand Lieutenant Zhao either put a smirk on Shun's face. He knew he should not feel so vindictive, but like Sikka said, Zhao had it coming.

But he wasn't the only one who had righteous anger coming to him. Out on the field, Zaron put his hands on his sides, looking at ZanYi in disbelief. She crossed her arms and looked back at him, doing her best not to wince at the pain the motion caused. She quirked a brow. The silence said so much, and she understood it all. "Zaron…"

"Did you even think about what might have happened if Zhao won? What kind of state you'd be in?"

While she knew from his tone that it was a rhetorical question, ZanYi answered anyway, "I didn't have to, because it was not going to happen. And don't even tell me I should have backed down," she cut him off, knowing what words his open mouth would spew. "You would not have backed down, and I was not going to either. And it's not my first time fighting off Zhao. We both know he's a bitter dunce."

Zaron stepped closer to her, frowning and his teeth grit. "That's my point—"

"Zaron," ZanYi said again, looking at her brother seriously. "If you haven't noticed, we're at war. I've been in combat since I was fourteen years old and so have you. Do not tell me to back down from a fight and do not tell me to be afraid. Besides, it's over and done with." ZanYi moved around him to walk away and she heard her brother call after her. She turned briefly. "Zaron, we're done on this subject for right now, but we can talk more later. Right now, I have a promise to fulfill."

But before she could walk much further, Zaron reached out to her and gripped her in a quick, strong hug. Syaoran was surprised, especially when ZanYi returned the favor. Never had he seen either seem so intimate and it almost felt like an intrusion just to see that.

"Fine. But make sure you go get yourself healed up and we'll talk later," Zaron told his sister as he let go. She nodded to him and then moved to walk away again. As she approached where Tiki and Syaoran stood, he held up a hand to get her attention.

"Lieutenant Tsong, are you—?"

"I'm fine, Syaoran," she told him briefly, with a smirk. Looking to Tiki, she stopped and, out of the brief tenderness of the moment she'd just had with her brother, she ruffled Tiki's hair. "You don't have anything to worry about anymore, Tiki."

Syaoran wanted to speak with her more, to talk to her about what had just transpired, but ZanYi just kept walking away, never looking back again. Syaoran let his jaw fall a little slack as he observed her exit. "That woman is something else…"

Tiki watched ZanYi walk away as well, a hand going uncertainly to her hair. ZanYi had just fought that battle… to protect her. What a strange twist of events. And all along, Tiki was certain that ZanYi disliked her.

The tiny airbender turned to agree with Syaoran's assessment when she finally registered the Avatar's expression and his tone of voice. Suddenly, everything that happened over the past few days between Syaoran and ZanYi made perfect sense.

"OOOOOOOH!" Tiki exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at Syaoran. "You—!"

In a rare moment of self-awareness, Tiki remembered that Zaron was nearby, and would probably not take too kindly to the information she had just become aware of. So Tiki lowered her voice and raised on her tip-toes to whisper into Syaoran's ear.

"When did you start crushing on ZanYi?" she asked him with a hand blocking the movement of her lips from Zaron's view. Her kitty grin was stretched wide as she added, "And don't even bother denying it, I can see it in your eyes! So does this mean that _you_ have a penchant for aggressive women, Mr. Hypocrite?"

And he had the nerve to criticize her infatuation with Zaron! ZanYi wasn't much better! Oooh, Tiki was going to have a _lot_ of fun with this.

Syaoran reacted almost wildly. His head whipped over to Zaron first, to see if the sergeant major had overhead Tiki. Thankfully he had not—there would have been a distinct firing at his being—so the Avatar whirled back onto Tiki.

"Shut-up, Tiki," he hissed quickly, jade gaze flickering anxiously back to the approaching Zaron before staring seriously at the airbender. When the sergeant major arrived, Syaoran opened his mouth to speak, and raised his hand to wave at the man, but Zaron kept on going without a single glance over at the two of them. Syaoran noted the very irritated look on his face and, learning from previous experience, did not provoke the matter.

Once he was out of earshot, he looked at Tiki again sharply. "I am not gonna talk about this with you," Syaoran told her grumpily, moving to walk past her. Talking with Shun about this was one thing; the man seemed to have a way with women and even the lieutenant did not completely alienate him. But Tiki? She had a motor-mouth and generally his firebending teacher did not even acknowledge her. "Just forget that and be thankful you're not a crispy critter," he told her.

Tiki pouted and followed the Avatar persistently.

"Oh, come on, don't be such a stiff," she complained, her elation at this new discovery souring with Syaoran's refusal to discuss it. "I think it's cute. You've kinda got that 'schoolboy-crushing-on-his-teacher' thing going on with ZanYi. It's adorable." And Shun had apparently picked up on it before Tiki did; the giant waterbender's insinuating comment from a few days ago told all. So if Shun was already in on it, perhaps he would be interested in joining a set-up plan that was already forming in Tiki's mind.

She kept this quiet, however: knowing Syaoran, he would be adamantly against the idea, and would ruin Tiki's fun. She would have to discuss this matter with Shun when neither the Avatar nor the lieutenant were around. If all went well, they could just thank her later.

Syaoran stopped in his tracks and looked at Tiki, scowling. Adorable was not one of the words he even had in his vocabulary, so he certainly did not appreciate the term being tossed about in reference to him or his affections. When he turned to glare, however, he noted the stillness that came over the airbender and could only assume she was up to no good. And in reference to this topic, he did not appreciate it.

"Tiki," he said warningly, "whatever you're thinking, don't. I don't know what you've got running through your head, but remember that Zhao is not the only dangerous firebender around here."

ZanYi had a lot of control, but Syaoran would be the last person to push it with her. And he could only hope that Tiki had learned something from all of this, but Syaoran figured that was hoping against hope.

Tiki blinked up at Syaoran, making her eyes large and innocent.

"What do you mean? I'm not thinking about anything in particular," she fibbed, while silently cursing Syaoran's perception. Had he really gotten to know her so well that he could tell just from a look that she was planning something? "Anyway, I'm gonna go finish dinner," the tiny airbender announced before Syaoran could scold her for more things she hadn't even done yet. She scampered away, her feline smirk beginning to show. All she had to do was get Shun in on it. Shun was a nice guy. He would want to see his comrades happy, Tiki was sure. He would help her… she hoped.

Syaoran watched as she bounded away, feeling even more anxious than he had a moment prior. He knew it without a doubt then: Tiki had already concocted something. This was the precise reason he had only spoken with Shun on the matter. This was not school, and the lieutenant was not just any teacher. Shouldn't Tiki know whatever she plans would not end well?

In fact, it would probably worsen things for Syaoran. He was beginning to think that no matter what, he was not meant to survive this war. Surrounded by people who meant to help and yet constantly put him under threat, it was easy to see things that way.

Following after Tiki, he frowned and furrowed in thought. He was going to find a way to stop Tiki. Otherwise, he was doomed.

Even as Tiki did her best to get away, she felt Syaoran following her. This, she did not like. All she wanted was a moment's peace to figure out how best to word her persuasive argument to Shun to convince him to help her get ZanYi and Syaoran together… Was that so much to ask?

Determined to get away from her fun-sucker of a companion, Tiki immediately summoned her air scooter and sped away, blowing past startled military personnel.

"Quit following me!" She ranted over her shoulder at Syaoran before pouring on the speed. Avatar or not, Syaoran had yet to learn airbending, because Tiki had yet to teach him. He was going to have a hard time catching up to her.

Syaoran growled. Tiki was not going to make this easy, was she? Then again, he supposed, she would not be Tiki unless she made life difficult for him. That's the bulk of what he had learned the past few weeks. It was unsurprising that Tiki was using airbending to get away. After all, she was constantly on the move and could barely plant herself on the ground. But that was something Syaoran could very well control and had not enough opportunities to show.

Rushing forward, he could see Tiki in the distance scooting away. Syaoran made a small leap and landed a firm foot on the ground. A large, stone wall appeared far up ahead, quite swiftly too. Fast enough that Tiki could not help but fly smack into it. Syaoran breathed a sigh of relief. "Bingo," he said, moving closer.

Indeed, Tiki did not stand a chance against the sudden upheaval of rock before her. She flew right into it, slamming hard against the rock wall and sliding down until she hit the ground. Her nose was burning and her eyes were stinging. She could see a few people surrounding her through her blurry eyes; they were muttering something that she couldn't make out until…

"Shoot. We need a healer! The airbending kid has broken her nose!" Someone called from nearby. And that's when the tears and the wailing began.

"M-m-MEAN!" Tiki managed to cry out as she sat on the ground, bawling. In truth, her nose didn't hurt that much—Tiki had sadly had many worse injuries, once upon a time—it was more her feelings that she was crying over. All she was trying to do was help Syaoran, and _this_ is how he repaid her? How horrible!

Syaoran closed his eyes and groaned profusely at the sound of Tiki's cries. This girl would never be taken seriously if she kept acting like a child. "Excuse me," he said as he cut in, managing through the soldiers that had gathered. Upon reaching the small airbender, he was torn between feeling apologetic and wincing at the sound of her wails. It was difficult to decide.

"Come on, Tiki," he eventually caved as he kneeled down at her side. Syaoran peered at her face and frowned. Sure enough, her nose was broken. "Let's go get you Shun or Sikka."

He picked the girl up and slipped her onto his back, piggybacking her through the soldiers. As the Avatar walked away, he did give one step a particular stomp so that the wall sank back into the ground.

"Y-you're m-mean, Syaoran!" Tiki blubbered, glaring at the back of the Avatar's head through her tears. If he had just quit following her, this wouldn't have happened. She was sorely tempted to hit him, but she was too busy sobbing to really put any energy into it. So the tiny airbender allowed herself to be carried, oblivious to the scandalized stares and whispers she was drawing as she wept.

* * *

Entering the barracks, ZanYi moved as quickly as she could through the halls, ignoring the thumbs up and applause she received from a few passerby. Instead, she moved straight to the heart of the floor, to their bunk room. Opening the door, she leaned in the doorway, quite similar to what had transpired the night before. Only this time, she was not beyond exhaustion, but rather looking as if she were a war refugee. "Ta-da," she announced, eyes finding Shun. "Was this soon enough for you?"

Shun paused and turned to give the lieutenant a surprised look. He had expected her conversation (argument) with Zaron to last for a while, but apparently, they had settled things quickly… or ZanYi had simply blown Zaron off. Either way, he had been in the process of searching his satchel for a dry shirt, having already stripped himself of the shirt that was damp from the water from his thick hair as well as the sweat that had coated his body when he was forced to watch ZanYi and Zhao fight.

He quite forgot his search after registering ZanYi's greeting, and a wide grin stretched across his face. "It'll do," he teased, approaching ZanYi and taking her hand to lead her back to his cot, which was closest. Learning from his mistake from last time, Shun sat next to the lieutenant instead of kneeling in front of her, opting to lift her burnt leg into his lap in order to heal it. As he set to work, Shun reminded ZanYi, "Though, if I recall correctly, you were certain that you wouldn't need to be healed."

The burn on ZanYi's leg took a little longer than usual—Zhao had been deadly serious—but it healed up perfectly, leaving ZanYi's skin a little pink but smooth. Shun folded his hands on ZanYi's knee for a moment, looking down at her. She looked worse-for-wear, but pleased with herself. He quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Feel better?" he asked. He wasn't talking about her healed leg at all, and he was certain she would be able to pick up on that fact.

And she did not disappoint him. ZanYi, leaning back on her hands as Shun held her leg, smirked a little. "I guess you could say that," she answered. The lieutenant took a lungful of air and closed her eyes, breathing deep and slow. "Zhao is not going to be messing with anyone any time soon. This will keep him at bay for now, at least."

Opening her eyes, ZanYi looked at Shun and regarded him entirely. His bare chest did not escape her sight, but she said nothing, though she did lift her brow as if she found what she saw quite satisfactory. "Besides," she continued, looking back to his face, "if I recall, you seemed quite convinced that I would not come out okay, or even come to you to get patched up."

The corner of her lip lifted higher. "And yet, here I am." Burnt, bruised, a bit bloodied, but certainly ZanYi would consider herself okay.

"Indeed," Shun agreed, his eyebrow lifting higher with the tilt of ZanYi's mouth. He moved her leg from his lap to beckon for one of her arms in its stead. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little surprised. You can be stubborn about this type of thing. But it would seem I was right to trust you in this instance."

Shun caught the brief once-over ZanYi gave him, and he tilted his head curiously. What was that look for? He didn't have the faintest idea. Maybe she was uncomfortable by his lack of a shirt? But that didn't make much sense. ZanYi had seen him shirtless before on a number of occasions. Maybe he was just overreacting.

"When you say 'for now'..." Shun began, his thoughts returning to the issue at hand, "do you mean to say that Zhao will come after you again?"

He didn't like that thought. He didn't like it at all. If the other lieutenant insisted on causing trouble for ZanYi, Shun was not sure how long he would be able to remain on the sidelines. It went against his very nature to allow harm to come to others, no matter the circumstances. But Zhao seemed like he understood nothing but force. What an unfortunate, brutish man.

ZanYi shrugged at Shun's question before she moved closer to him to lend the healer her arm. "I doubt he'll try anything again this week," she answered without abandon, easily. "He's toasted. He's has to heal up, but he was also made an example of in front of quite a number of soldiers, including his own."

The lieutenant highly doubted Zhao would be daft enough to try anything again like the sneaky attack he pulled earlier. And she could not fathom any of his soldiers trying anything; that would be a breach of authority that could get them in huge trouble.

"However," she started again, lips pursing a bit into a small frown as she looked at her chars and injuries, "the next time our troops end up on the same base is another story entirely. He'll be hotheaded; his pride was stomped on, and he'll be disillusioned into thinking he's gotten stronger and therefore able to take me."

That thought was almost laughable. Every ounce better he got, so did she, only tenfold. He had no chance in all of history. "And it will end the same as it always does," ZanYi concluded, a smirk back on her lips.

Shun shook his head slightly as he worked on healing the burns of the arm ZanYi offered to him. So Lieutenant Zhao was one of those men, was he? How on earth had he managed to secure such a high title?

"He seems to bear a grudge against you," Shun stated delicately, keeping his eyes on his work. He sensed that this might be a tender topic: the other lieutenant had said some awful things, and ZanYi had reacted fiercely.

What was it about ZanYi and her family—the former royal line of the Fire Nation—that drove Zhao to spit such envious words?

ZanYi barely tensed at the observation. After all, this was a simple truth. However, she did tense a bit. It was not because of Shun, but rather because of the mere thought of Zhao's grudge, of his angry words. It was almost enough to make her bristle again, and she had to actively ensure her hands would not light up.

"Yes," she agreed solemnly, "yes, he does."

Leaving her arm, ZanYi's eyes traversed to Shun's concentrated face. Whether it was concentrating on his work, on avoiding her face, or both, she was not entirely sure. "What's your question, Shun?" she asked him. As far as ZanYi was concerned, she had nothing to hide on this topic. And it was not as if Zhao's grudge was a secret. Surely most of the military knew about it.

Shun smiled a little. Was he that easy to read? Or was ZanYi perhaps too perceptive? Either way, he felt a tad uncomfortable. Wasn't it considered rude to pry into peoples' pasts? Especially the painful ones, as ZanYi's seemed to be?

But she was asking him what he wanted to know. The giant waterbender mulled her words over for a while, moving on to heal her other arm, before he decided he felt safe asking her what was on his mind.

"I suppose I just want to know why," he said quietly. He looked away from his work to meet ZanYi's eyes. "If I'm prying, feel free to be your usual blunt self and tell me it's none of my business," he told her, his slight smile growing an inch. It wasn't like she needed his permission in the first place—ZanYi did and said whatever and rarely made apologies about it—he just wanted to let her know that he would not be offended if she decided not to answer. It really was none of his business, after all.

"It's none of your business," ZanYi immediately said, but she was smirking as she did so. Even her tone was not as serious, not like a reprimand and more like a statement of fact. Since Shun was reaching over to work on her other arm, she turned so that she was mostly on the cot, able to give him better access to her arm.

The lieutenant looked away from his eyes and focused on her arm, sitting on the answer that she would give. "To pinpoint one reason is difficult," she admitted, running through the history she held with Zhao, "although the most obvious is that he was passed over to lead the AKs in favor of me."

But several firebenders had been up for the job; it was mostly Zhao that had taken it so harshly. And part of it was something she could not help.

"The era of ruling royalty in the Fire Nation is over, but its legacy hasn't died. And firebenders are very proud benders," ZanYi mused aloud, as if trying to explain the feelings so innate within so many of her kind. "The Tsong line may not wear a crown anymore, but if you are of the royal bloodline, you are still treated as a leader, as if you are still the one they answer to, not the prime minister. When citizens of the Fire Nation and firebenders have nowhere else to turn, they turn to tradition."

And it made her bitter. Her name was but a birthright, and one she did not care to bear. ZanYi wanted to earn the respect she got, earn the titles she bore. Sometimes it was that way—other times it was not. "Not everyone thinks like that though and therefore assume everything is by bias. People like Zhao, for instance."

Shun gave a slight nod, finishing up ZanYi's other arm. That made sense. Zhao definitely seemed like that kind of person, if the way he addressed ZanYi was any indication.

"That's ridiculous," he said, criticizing Zhao once again. He caught himself and amended, "I mean, there's only so much you can blame on bias. Surely Zhao realizes by now that your position is yours because your skills are better than his? Today's Agni-Kai made that obvious."

Shun turned and grabbed his satchel, pulling it towards him to rifle through it once again. Once he found a dry shirt, he pulled it on and began fixing his hair back into its normal ponytail. "Then again," he began after a moment, "Zhao seems like the type of man to want to blame his failures on others rather than take responsibility for them himself."

Which meant he was a coward. But Shun did not say that out loud; unpleasant though he was, Shun was already being quite rude to Zhao, and behind his back, no less. Shun's stomach rumbled hungrily just then, reminding him he hadn't had a chance to eat his evening meal.

"Have you eaten dinner yet?" Shun asked of ZanYi, not wanting to be rude and leave her there while he filled his gut. Besides, he wouldn't mind the company. ZanYi was interesting to talk to.

ZanYi stood and walked over to her own cot, her limbs in lessened pain. She shuffled through her duffel, searching for a set of clean clothes. "No," she answered him as she looked, "I haven't. I was on my way when Zhao jumped me."

Finding what she was searching for, ZanYi put them aside and chucked her bag back under the cot. She pulled out her hair tie, letting her raven hair fall to her shoulders. "But I'm going to have to pass," the lieutenant continued as she turned to face Shun. "I'd rather clean up right about now. Besides, I have to talk with Zaron later."

ZanYi made a face like it was something she was not looking forward to, but then she felt something itch by her lip, and tried to wipe gingerly at it. She pulled her hand back to find it was dried blood. Unpleasant.

"Yikes," Shun replied empathetically. He could just imagine how that conversation was going to go. "Good luck with that. In the mean time, I'm going to grab some food. Hopefully the cook hasn't closed up shop yet. Later."

As Shun made his way back to the mess hall, a strange sound reached his ears. It was unpleasant, yet very familiar…

"Tiki!" Shun cried as he rounded a corner and saw the tiny airbender being carried on Syaoran's back, crying and bleeding all over the place. "What the—what happened to you? Honestly, I take my eyes off you for five minutes…"

"S-S-Syaoran m-made me h-hit a WALL!" Tiki burst out, crying harder than ever at the re-telling of such a calamity. Shun blinked, perplexed.

"Teeks, calm down," he tried to soothe the weeping girl while inspecting her broken nose. "I'm sure it's a misunderstanding. Syaoran wouldn't make you hit a wall on purpose, would you, Syaoran?"

Shun gave a helpless smile to the Avatar as he patted Tiki's hair. Who knew how long Syaoran had been putting up with Tiki's behavior… and what was this nonsense about Syaoran causing her to hit a wall? He and Tiki didn't always get along, true, but even Shun knew that Syaoran was not that heartless.

"No, she's right. I made her hit a wall," Syaoran answered truthfully and quite bluntly. It was his intent and he couldn't shy around that. Shun having found them, the Avatar put Tiki back on her feet as she wailed, grateful to have her out of his ear drum. "I didn't mean to break her nose though," he added, a bit sheepishly.

Syaoran looked at his shirt and cringed. He had not realized that Tiki had been dripping blood on him from her broken nose. Once again, he found himself torn between being apologetic and irritated. He truly had not intended to hurt Tiki; Syaoran just been trying to stop her.

"Apparently she has not figured out yet that most people do not, in fact, appreciate her schemes," he told Shun. Syaoran's narrowed look was directed at Tiki though. "I was just trying to stop her before she went and did something irreparable, unlike her nose."

Shun stared down at Syaoran, unable to believe his ears for a moment. But it appeared he stood corrected: Syaoran apparently was that heartless.

"…I don't know what Tiki was planning," Shun began, his expression grave, "but causing her to run into a wall wasn't the answer, Syaoran. I think you should apologize."

"I was just trying to help…" Tiki muttered thickly, rubbing at her eyes and beginning to hiccup. Shun knelt down in front of the weeping airbender, gently prying her hands away from her face.

"Take it easy, Teeks," he urged her as he surrounded the bridge of her nose with water and began to massage it back into place. A second later, her nose was good as new. "You should go clean the blood off your face, Teeks," Shun suggested, standing back up when he was finished. Still sniffling, Tiki nodded and fled in the opposite direction for the bathroom. Once the tiny airbender was gone, Shun turned and leaned against the wall, facing Syaoran with his arms folded.

"…What was that about, Avatar? Why would you do something like that?" Shun wanted to know, his brow furrowed in concern and disapproval. Syaoran did not even sound like he was sorry—or at least was conflicted about it. All he seemed concerned about was that Tiki did not manage whatever mischief she had cooked up this time around. His lack of compassion worried Shun.

Syaoran watched as Tiki bounded away, twisting his lip. It was a bit painful to watch, Tiki was. But that was because she reminded him of his little sister. He also surmised that if she ever wanted to be taken seriously for a nineteen year old, she would have to stop reacting like his younger sister.

He looked to Shun and found the waterbender fixing him with a reprimanding look. It was almost like facing his mother. Syaoran had to remind himself that Tiki was not his sister, Shun was not his mother… or his father. And in this case scenario, the damage done might have been worth it, since Shun had been able to fix it.

"Tiki was concocting a plan to get me and Lieutenant Tsong…" Syaoran's voice trailed, unable to finish. It was highly improbable and therefore he tried not to think about it.

Running a hand through his shaggy hair, he continued, "Tiki figured it out. And she was already running off to start something, which for some reason she sees as 'helping'. I tried talking to her first!" Syaoran felt like he was on the defensive for something he had not done intentionally wrong. It's not like he threw up a wall just to injure the girl—he had just been trying to stop her when she wouldn't listen.

"You tell me: would you rather heal Tiki's broken nose or have Lieutenant Tsong after all of us?" Syaoran figured that would be a rhetorical question, so he continued, "We both know anything that sets her off is not good for anyone else. You've been on her bad side. Imagine that, only against all three of us."

Shun imagined the scenario Syaoran had posed, and it made him shudder. Anything that caused that was definitely bad news. Now he could see how Syaoran must have been frantic, determined to stop Tiki's misguided 'helping' before it was too late. Breaking the tiny airbender's nose had been an unfortunate by-product of Syaoran's haste.

"Regardless, you did end up hurting Tiki," Shun pointed out, determined to drive his point home. "You stopped her from doing whatever it was she was planning, so it's only right that you apologize for breaking her nose, you know? Tiki may be troublesome from time to time… but she's a good kid. And so are you."

Shun clamped a hand briefly on Syaoran's shoulder and continued on his way to the mess hall to satisfy his rumbling stomach. The giant waterbender hoped that Syaoran would do the right thing: as much as a disaster Tiki's 'matchmaking' was bound to be, she didn't deserve to have her nose broken. But hopefully this little incident would discourage her from using her newfound knowledge in an unwise manner.

* * *

**A/N from Eva: HAHAHAHA-ahem. Sorry. I just feel that Zhao got what he deserved and then some. :P And Tiki and Syaoran I just shake my head at in this chapter. For near adults, they sure do act like kids a lot. XP  
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**Wiechcheu1925: We're glad you understand and that you intend to continue with the story. Don't worry, Syaoran has a lot more training ahead of him, and we do focus on it at certain points. :) Lieutenant Zhao is indeed the descendant of General Zhao-couldn't you tell by the pompous attitude? XP  
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**Japaneserockergirl: It's not just you-every guy named Zhao is definitely a douchenozzle. XD We hope you enjoyed this chapter! We certainly did when it was being written, bwahahaha!  
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**That's all for now! Happy Friday, everyone, and we hope you continue to enjoy the story! :D  
**


	14. The Change of Plans

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire**

**By Twins of the Pen**

**Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

* * *

The next morning brought an unusual occurrence: Tiki was still in bed by the time everyone else was up and dressed for the day. Her lemur sat beside her head, which was covered in bedsheets, peering curiously at her tired master. When Lili nudged Tiki's head, a tiny hand emerged from the covers to swat the lemur away. That movement made Shun aware of a critical fact: Tiki was sulking.

"It's breakfast time, Teeks," Shun announced, sitting on the edge of Tiki's cot and patting her head. She swung at his hand too.

"I'm not hungry," came her mumbled voice from under the sheet. A second later, a growling stomach was heard, contradicting her words. Shun had to struggle to not laugh.

"You sure?" he wanted to check.

"Go away, Shun," Tiki answered, pulling the covers tighter over her head. Shun remained there for a moment, gazing at the balled-up figure that was Tiki before he shrugged and got up. He tried, but if Tiki wanted to be sullen today, there was hardly anything he could do about it.

"Suit yourself," he said.

Syaoran wanted to roll his eyes as he laced his boots. Tiki had been sulking ever since she'd stopped wailing. It was difficult to tell which was worse, but at least, he supposed, this was the quieter option of the two. Syaoran still found it difficult to ascertain that they were the same age.

From by the door, ZanYi quirked a brow at the airbender as she lay in bed. She could only come up with one answer for such an occurrence, as much as she was enjoying the silence. "You know, Tiki," the lieutenant said, "that Zhao is no longer an issue. He's not going to bother you again."

"That's not the problem, Lieutenant," Syaoran spoke up, sighing grievously. When ZanYi glanced to him with the questioning expression, he answered, "No, you don't want to know."

The lieutenant was perfectly fine with this and therefore said nothing more on the subject. "Well, it's time for the rest of us to get going, with or without her."

Syaoran knew that and knew that they had not much time to eat breakfast before training, but alas, it was going to have to wait. Despite knowing Shun was neither of his parents, his words struck him the same as theirs would have, and it egged at him. "Go ahead," he urged his teacher. "I'll catch up in a minute."

ZanYi peered at him curiously, and he tilted his head to gesture towards Tiki. The firebender nodded. "Make it quick, Syaoran," was her consent as the lieutenant then walked out into the hall. "You coming, Shun?" she called back out.

Shun hesitated, a little anxious. Though he was certain Syaoran just wanted a moment with Tiki to apologize—Tiki's sulking made it clear that he had not done so already—the giant waterbender would be lying if he didn't admit that leaving the two alone again after yesterday's events made him nervous. However, it was clear Syaoran did not want an audience. So what else could Shun do but shrug and follow ZanYi out the door?

"I hope they'll patch things up," he muttered to himself. It was strange to have Tiki not talking to Syaoran—usually it was the other way around. And the tiny airbender surely could not stay mad at the Avatar forever… right?

Back in Team Avatar's quarters, Tiki tensed under her sheets. She did not want to be alone with Syaoran, and she was almost appalled that Shun went ahead and left her there with him! Then again, she had told the giant waterbender to leave her alone, didn't she…?

Tiki groaned, maintaining a firm grip on her sheets. If only she had not spoken earlier, then she could have pretended to be asleep. But Syaoran probably would have jostled her awake anyhow… Either way, she refused to talk to him. His actions yesterday were uncalled for, and he knew it.

Syaoran looked at Tiki's hidden, curled up form and exhaled with irritation on his face. This was becoming highly annoying and he found himself running dry on patience. But he did know that this was going to continue unless he did something; Tiki was relentless with all emotions. Syaoran just considered this practice as the Avatar. After all, it wasn't supposed to be all about what he wanted, right? So he stood and strode over to Tiki's bed, looming over it. He munched on his own desires for a moment, but then he set his mind to what he needed to do. "Hey, Tiki," he said first, "can we talk for a minute?"

Syaoran sat on the edge of her cot, facing away from her. He hung his arms over his bent knees. "I'm sorry I broke your nose," he apologized. "That wasn't something I meant to do. I didn't _want_ to hurt you…" That was the honest truth. He did not need to force any of that. As desperate as he had been to stop her, hurting her was not part of his initial plan.

There was a pause as Tiki took a moment to take in the Avatar's words.

And then, quite abruptly, she sat up and flung the bed sheets off of her, causing Lili to screech in alarm and take off for the other side of the room. Tiki was staring at Syaoran, her expression a cross between upset and incredulous. He hadn't meant to hurt her? Was he _serious_?

"…Rock is _hard_, Syaoran," Tiki began, her voice unusually quiet, "solid. As an earthbender, you know that better than anyone. And when it takes the form of a _wall_, rock is pretty much immovable. So running into a rock wall is pretty much a guarantee for pain. You knew that too. And yet, you raised a wall for me to run into. After knowing all that, how could you _dare_ to claim that you didn't mean to hurt me?!"

Tiki realized she was shouting by this time, and she looked away from the Avatar. Hugging her knees to her chest, the tiny airbender rested her head on her knees, facing away from Syaoran.

"Nevermind," she said, her tone calm and even, "your apology is acknowledged. You can go now."

Acknowledged, not accepted. Her nose had healed up just fine, but Tiki's feelings were still hurt. It was going to take a while for those wounds to heal, apology or not.

Syaoran stood up stiffly, his back to her. And then he let out a frustrated roar as he grabbed and shook his unruly brown hair. He whirled to face Tiki, clear irritation on his face. It took every ounce of the control that the lieutenant had taught him not to earthbend right there in a fit of outrage—or firebend even, for that matter.

"You can pin the blame and the hurt on me all you want, Tiki, but I don't regret trying to stop you!" he yelled at her. "I apologized honestly and truthfully because no matter what you may think, I did not want to hurt you!"

He paced away, wanting to separate from the infuriating child. Even his sister was better than this, and it made him all the more angry. "You never think that anything you do has any consequences aside from what you think will happen. There's a much bigger world out there and it has nothing to do with your feelings. That's what happened with Zhao. And you know what? You probably never even thought about how your little plans would affect me or this team! The same woman who took down your fears and got herself beat up for _your sake_ would have been the one affected most."

Syaoran's shoulders panted, moving up and down in his anger. The little voice in his head told him to calm him down, but it was difficult. It had been so long since he had been this infuriated. So he listened partially to the conscience he had. He went to the door to leave, to cool off a bit. Looking back one more time, his eyes were stern and serious as he looked back at her once more. "I could care less if you accept my apology or believe me. You don't have to. But that's a reflection on you, not me. I'm sorry I hurt you. But just remember that if you're going to ignore what people say to you, there will be consequences. That's what got us into this mess to begin with."

And Syaoran stormed out, leaving to join the others at breakfast.

Whether he had meant to hurt her or not, he sure did right then. The yelling Tiki didn't care too much about—she had gotten used to being yelled at—but the words cut deeper than flesh. Syaoran had basically taken all her silent insecurities and thrown them back in her face with enough force to shatter her nose again. Indeed, her nose did begin to sting, but that was only because the tears were coming.

Tiki flung herself back under her sheets and curled herself into a ball, her whole being trembling with silent tears. As mean as the tiny airbender thought the Avatar was being, she could not deny the truth in his words. She had said as much yesterday: she never thought of anyone but herself. It was only just now beginning to dawn on her that she could have hurt Syaoran's feelings if her matchmaking plans had gone awry. ZanYi was his firebending teacher first and foremost. Anything after that would have to wait until Syaoran's training was done, and anything before that would have made the relationship between the lieutenant and the Avatar extremely awkward.

'_Great… so I'm the bad guy here,_' Tiki surmised, sniffling pathetically. The curious Lili poked her head under the covers to peer at her master, and Tiki absent-mindedly gave the lemur a pat on the head. Tiki was wrong for butting into Syaoran's affairs. She could admit that… to herself. Admitting it to Syaoran was a whole other can of worms.

"…Should I apologize, Lili?" Tiki asked the lemur, uncertain. "He did make me run into a wall… but I was about to mess up a good relationship. What do you think? An eye for an eye?"

Lili stayed silent as always, blinking her large green eyes up at her master. Tiki sighed and sat up. Her stomach rumbled, demanding to be fed. But Tiki did not want to face Syaoran right now.

'_…I'll go clean myself up first,_' Tiki decided, sliding off her cot and leaving the room to head to the bathroom. '_Maybe the running water will clear my head and help me think._'

* * *

Shun was headed back to the barracks, nodding absent-mindedly to all who greeted him. He had had an exhausting day: today's firebending practice was particularly fierce, with Syaoran especially. The Avatar had been in a foul mood, and he made a few more mistakes than usual. But his bending had been powerful, and Shun had to patch up the AK that had the misfortune to spar with Syaoran. This was becoming the norm, however; more and more AKs sought Shun's expert healing after training, now that it had become common knowledge that he was the best at the base. Shun still made ZanYi and Syaoran his top priorities, but he was loathe to turn away the other firebenders that sought his skills.

Shun had not seen Tiki all day. She did not show up for morning practice, she wasn't there when they took a break for lunch, and she was absent all through the afternoon training. Shun was starting to worry. By the expression on Syaoran's face when he had joined Shun and ZanYi for breakfast, the giant waterbender surmised that things had not gone well between him and Tiki. So if Syaoran was looking like that, how was Tiki?

The giant waterbender had nothing to worry about. Once he reached Team Avatar's quarters, he found Tiki seated on her cot, peacefully meditating. Assured that she was doing fine, Shun turned to give her some peace and quiet.

"Hello, Shun."

Shun turned back to greet Tiki, but he saw that her eyes were still closed. Curious, he asked, "How did you know it was me? I didn't say anything… or hit my head on the doorway."

"Your aura gave you away," Tiki replied. Shun thought he saw the corners of her mouth twitch at his little joke. "How was the training today?"

"Fine. Though Syaoran was a little more… enthusiastic than usual," Shun phrased carefully, watching Tiki's expression for any change. She just inhaled deeply and exhaled a moment later. "Speaking of Syaoran," the giant waterbender persisted when Tiki said nothing else, "are you two—?"

"Shun, I'm meditating right now," the tiny airbender reminded Shun, cutting across his question. Shun raised his eyebrows, feeling a little snubbed. A moment later, Tiki opened her eyes to look at him. Her mouth smiled, but her gray orbs were sad. "Don't worry. I'm fine," she assured him before closing her eyes and breathing deeply once more. Shun watched her for a minute, unconvinced. But, like this morning, he shrugged it off and turned to go.

"If you say so."

But as he did so, he found Syaoran trying to enter. The Avatar inched by him to enter the room, only to be stalled when he saw Tiki meditating ever so quietly. It made him stiffen a bit, unsure of how to proceed. In the end, he decided it was not worth blowing up again and turned to exit, only to find ZanYi there as well.

"Why is everyone just standing in the doorway?" she asked, looking at everyone with a furrowed brow. Brushing past both Syaoran and Shun, she walked over to her bed and sat down, quickly unlacing her heavy boots. "We're leaving in a couple days to return to base, since everything is quiet here," she announced, completely indifferent to the tension in the room.

The lieutenant was not oblivious to it. Something had been wrong that morning, and it showed all through Syaoran's training throughout the day. Even Shun was being a bit quiet on the subject.

"We'll be traveling the same way we came, only we'll be flanked by my unit," she continued. Clearly uncomfortable with all things involving Tiki right now, Syaoran sat down on his cot, listening intently to ZanYi. "It will be a quick and safe journey, and once we are back there, you will continue lessons with the Agni-Kais, as well as resume private lessons at the falls."

Just as Syaoran had sat down though, ZanYi stood up, walking over to the giant in their midst. "Shun, Zaron would like to discuss something with you in preparation for our departure. Mind coming with me?" she asked him. Without an answer, she walked out into the hall and down it. And that meant it was going to be him and Tiki alone again.

"Um," Shun began, but ZanYi was already gone. With a worried glance over his shoulder at the clashing elements being left behind, Shun hastened after ZanYi.

"What does your brother need to see me for?" he could not help but inquire after he caught up to ZanYi. After all, Shun's last encounter with the man was not exactly pleasant. But ZanYi had mentioned something about their departure…

"Is this about Ai?" Shun guessed, his thoughts going to his poor dust-collecting bike. It was feasible that the sergeant major might want to arrange different travel plans for Shun's motorcycle, since they would apparently be traveling with the AKs. But Shun had to wonder if that was really what Zaron wanted to discuss with him.

ZanYi rolled her eyes. "No, this is not about your bike," she told him. Feeling a good distance away from earshot, she then turned and stopped dead in her tracks, toe to toe with Shun. "There is no meeting with Zaron." Yes, she had lied, but she had a point, one that would not be carried out in front of the other two. No stranger to close encounters, ZanYi stood straight and strong as she looked up at Shun. She placed her hands on her sides. "But I've got a question for you," she told him, her eyes narrowed and her brow raised. "Just what the crap is going on with you three right now?"

Shun raised his hands defensively.

"I'm not in it," he assured the irritated-looking lieutenant. "And you don't want to be either, believe me. All you need to know is that Tiki and Syaoran had a fight yesterday, and they're still working things out… I think."

So ZanYi had lied to get Shun alone to interrogate him? The giant waterbender could not help but be amused. He wondered what expression she would wear if she ever learned that she was at the center of Tiki and Syaoran's conflict?

"…I'm not exactly sure if we should have left them alone like that, though," Shun commented, turning to look back down the hall as he rubbed his chin. He didn't hear any shouting…that was good, at least. Or bad. He really wasn't sure: this situation was so bizarre that he could not make heads or tails of it just yet.

None of Shun's words served to appease the lieutenant. In fact, it only clouded her further. ZanYi crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "You say it was just a fight, but you're worried about them being left to work it out?" she condensed, giving him a pointed look. ZanYi eyed him severely before looking back down the hall, as he was. She saw nothing, and heard nothing from their room. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Which meant, to her, that either Shun was exaggerating or perhaps silence was a sign of concern all its own.

"Shun," she said, calling back his attention, tilting her head a bit to peer into his peripheral view. "Whatever issues they have, they have to work it out themselves. But if this is a big deal, I need to know what's going on within my own team, and you're hiding it from me." Which ZanYi found incredibly frustrating of him. So she enunciated her next sentence slowly and surely. "What happened?"

Shun slowly turned back to meet the lieutenant's stern gaze, troubled. It was in no way his place to tell her what the actual problem was—his divulging this information to ZanYi would not be much better than the ideas that had been floating through Tiki's head—but Shun knew that if he did not give ZanYi a satisfactory answer, she would not let this go. His jaw worked, as if he were chewing over the words he wanted to say before he said them.

"From what I understand," he phrased carefully, "Tiki found out something personal from Syaoran's life that he didn't want her knowing. She ran off to cause mischief—as usual—with this information, and in his panic to stop her, Syaoran raised a wall, which Tiki ran into. She ended up breaking her nose, and now they're not on the greatest terms. I think Syaoran apologized earlier, but from what I saw, it didn't go too well."

Shun sighed and shrugged his massive shoulders. "That's why I'm worried: I have no idea what the score is right now, or who is more mad at who. But if I know Tiki, she'll come around. She's really not the type to sulk forever. As for Syaoran…well, he's the more mature of the two, so I'm sure he'll do everything in his power to smooth things over."

'_I hope,_' Shun added silently in his head. He hoped his explanation was enough for the lieutenant: Syaoran already had enough to deal with, Tiki's mercurial moods notwithstanding.

ZanYi chewed on this information, only a tad disgruntled. None of that was uplifting news, and someone's private life was a tricky thing. Any time spent in the military taught that. So to find that to be the source of the issue was not surprising, or new. In the end, she breathed in a bit of relief. It was not great, but it was something that could be managed.

Tiki was a child, sure. There was no doubt there and therefore she agreed Tiki had been the one to aggravate the situation. ZanYi could only roll her eyes at finding the girl had been so surly with Syaoran over the matter. "They'll be fine," she finally said to Shun, uncrossing her arms. "Syaoran can handle it. He's not as much of a child as Tiki. If someone has to be the bigger man, it'll be him."

However, she did scoff a bit in disbelief. One hand went to her hip, the other to rub her temple. There was a glimmer of a smirk on her lips. "He earthbended a wall at her?"

Whereas the ghost of a smirk appeared on ZanYi's lips, the exact opposite was displayed on Shun's face.

"Yeah," he sighed, shaking his head. "And she was a mess when he brought her to me. If she pitched a fit that large because of a broken nose, I shudder to think what would have happened if she had been injured any further than that."

Shun's attention turned towards ZanYi's description of Tiki and Syaoran. Now he could understand the younger man's frustrations with the way the lieutenant treated him: though she said he was not as much of a child as Tiki, it was clear that she still viewed him as a child in some ways. This intrigued the giant waterbender, for ZanYi surely was not much older than Tiki and Syaoran. Did she view them as children because they had yet to see the many horrors of adulthood that ZanYi had already had to face? The way she spoke sometimes indicated that she was everyone's mother.

At that thought, Shun had to chuckle. "You're interesting, ZanYi," he told the lieutenant, because it was true. ZanYi appeared to be a woman that liked to be respected and feared much more than simply liked, but someone would have to be blind not to notice that she put her whole heart into everything she did.

ZanYi's expression changed, more curious than amused now. Perplexed, even. Her golden eyes gazed up at Shun's with that sentiment, and her eyebrow raised. "Interesting?" she repeated. Many words had been used to describe her by her soldiers, her superiors, and others. 'Interesting' had been a word used, certainly, but generally for lack of a better word. But the way it rolled off of Shun's tongue, ZanYi could not tell his meaning. And whatever it was, the waterbender found it amusing.

"What do you mean?" she inquired of him, probing.

The amusement grew on Shun's face. How to best phrase this without offending the firebending lieutenant? Hmmm…

"You just are," he said. But he knew this would not be enough of an explanation for ZanYi, so he continued, "The way you look out for everyone, whether it's something small or something big… well, I can see why you're admired. Not everyone can see it, but your compassion drives most of your actions, I bet. The fact that you defended Tiki against Zhao proves it."

ZanYi was very much a good person, deep down. Shun was starting to see why the Avatar had become infatuated with her… just a little.

Paused, the firebender's face became thoughtful and contemplative. She was not sure what she had been expecting, but the lieutenant did know that what she received was not it. And ZanYi also knew that the adjective 'interesting' had not been used in that fashion before.

"Thank-you… I think," she appreciated with a steady voice, albeit bit confused still as she mulled over the words. ZanYi coughed a bit uncomfortably before looking back to him, picking a topic she was more suited for. "The thing with Zhao was not even an issue. He had it coming to him, anyway," ZanYi understated. Zhao may have been gunning for her already, and completely intent on trying to take her down, but ZanYi did not see him as a threat. He was a man-child that needed handling, which is exactly what she did. ZanYi saw no need to be commended for something that should be done.

But Shun's grin grew. Was it that rare for ZanYi to be praised in such a manner? Or had she never really thought about the points he brought up the way he thought about them? Either way, she didn't give herself much credit. Her uncertainty was almost endearing.

"Even so," he said, "I'm sure Tiki appreciates what you've done for her. And I appreciate it too. I don't know what I would have done if Zhao actually ended up hurting Tiki." Shun lifted a giant hand to rest on ZanYi's shoulder, smiling gently. "So, thank you, ZanYi."

* * *

Tiki's only reaction to being left alone with Syaoran once more was a slight stiffening of her spine. However, another deep breath later took care of that. She had just begun her meditation, and she did not want to break it to talk—or argue—with Syaoran. Usually he left her alone when she was meditating, so the tiny airbender was hoping the courtesy would still continue, even if they were not on the best of terms at the moment.

Syaoran did not know what to do. He almost felt like he was tricked into being left with Tiki; he would not put it past the lieutenant, but Syaoran also felt that was a bit paranoid. So, as silently as he could, he tried to take off his boots. The air was awkward, tense. Tiki seemed quite focused on her meditating—which was normal, except now she was avoiding him as well. Unsure of what to do or say, he continued to disrobe, taking off his shirt in favor of finding some clean clothes. It was silent, except when he could not help the shuffling noise and scratches as he searched through the bag he'd been given to borrow.

Tiki let out a short huff. Whatever Syaoran was doing, she wished he would stop. She had not found her groove yet, so his noises were being very distracting. But now a new noise, loud and demanding, filled the room. It took Tiki a moment or two to realize that it was her stomach making that noise.

'_Oh yeah… I haven't had anything to eat yet today,_' the tiny airbender suddenly recalled, chagrin twisting her face. She had been so scared to have to face Syaoran in the mess hall that she did not know what to do… so she ended up not going. Her stomach was reminding her painfully of that fact as it twisted and wriggled in her abdomen. True, there had been days, as Tiki was on the run, where she had not had anything at all to eat. But after being fed three square meals a day for the past few weeks, she had become used to it, and not having anything to eat at all made her stomach rebel.

"Okay, okay," she murmured to it, unfolding her legs and sliding off of her cot. What Tiki did not expect was for her legs to give out from under her. She fell onto her backside, stunned. What just happened? When did she lose the feeling in her legs? Was it because she had yet to eat anything that day? Or was it because she had her legs crossed for a while, and they simply fell asleep?

Whatever the reason, they would not respond when Tiki tried to stand, and her growing frustration made tears gather in her eyes.

'_Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry,_' she urged herself, biting her lip from the effort. The tears did not go away; they sat at the corner of her eyes, waiting to escape onto her lashes. But they did not increase either, which Tiki was thankful for. She did not want to lose it in front of Syaoran again, not when he already treated her like a child. She just had to be patient and wait for the feeling in her legs to come back. Then she would get some food and go on with the evening.

…But hopefully Shun would come back soon and help her out, just in case the feeling in her legs didn't come back for a while.

Syaoran looked away from his bag at the sound of the thump, only to find Tiki had planted herself on the floor. It seemed odd, and she certainly was not meditating any longer. And it seemed that her stormy eyes were glassy, pooling. This made Syaoran stand back up and turn completely.

Tiki seemed determined not to cry—which he wasn't quite sure how to take, but it didn't change that she appeared to be having difficulty standing. The part of him that was still irked wanted to just leave her to her own devices, to ignore her as she ignored everything anyone ever said.

However, Syaoran knew he could not do that, as irritated as he was. So wordlessly, he strode over to Tiki and stared down at her, still debating what to do. In the end, he stuck out a hand to the small girl. He didn't say anything; he just offered her his hand. It was up to her whether she would accept his help or not.

Tiki was in the middle of contemplating whether or not she should simply crawl to the mess hall—everyone on the Omashu base already thought her strange—when she heard footsteps approach. They stopped in front of her, and Tiki hesitantly looked up to find Syaoran staring down at her. He was still angry with her, that much was clear from his expression. But as Tiki opened her mouth to say she was fine, he silently offered her his hand.

She stared at it for a full five seconds, convinced it was a trick. When the hand did not disappear, she looked up into Syaoran's face, searching his expression. He was definitely still mad at her… but even so, he was offering her help. What did this mean? Tiki wasn't sure, but the gesture made her all the more emotional. Ducking her head and scrubbing at her eyes, she impatiently brushed away the tears lurking on her lashes, and then reached out and firmly grasped Syaoran's offered hand. She said nothing as well, but the tremulous smile she wore was offered as a gesture of gratitude.

When she accepted his hand, the corner of his lip upturned. Syaoran tugged her to her feet and stayed her, making sure the airbender would not fall back again onto her rear. He understood this to mean he was forgiven, which he could not deny was a bit of a relief.

After that, Syaoran continued on wordlessly, turning back to his bag to find his shirt in there. Eventually he found it, though he had to shuffle a bit more to find some clean pants. If Tiki did not want to talk, that was fine. Her smile had said enough. Something had gotten through to her and Syaoran would take what he could get the little airbender.

Tiki breathed a sigh of relief when she found that she could remain standing on her own. She still could not feel her legs, however, and when she tried to take a step forward, she stumbled into the doorway.

"Oof," she huffed as her side hit the wall. Her hands braced against the wall, she took another heavy step. Her legs were sluggish, but they were beginning to tingle. That was a good sign… she hoped. Pausing in her endeavors, Tiki glanced back at Syaoran, biting her lip. "Um, Syaoran—?" she began, intending to ask for help. But at the last second, she changed her mind.

"…I'm sorry about today," she apologized instead, ducking her head in embarrassment. The apology felt good, though, and it was with renewed determination that she struggled to put one foot in front of the other, fighting with her unresponsive legs. Tiki briefly considered summoning her air scooter, but felt that would only exasperate the problem, since her legs were probably asleep from being crossed too long.

Syaoran heard the words and turned just in time to watch Tiki struggle as she left the room. While her actions had been satisfactory, her words did mean something to him. And with that said, it was difficult to just stand there and allow her to push herself in such a way. "Hang on," he told her begrudgingly, shoving his shirt over his bare torso. Jogging over into the hall, he easily got her. Taking one of her arms, he lifted it over his head, thankful that he was not entirely lifting her off the ground with the motion. "Need some help?" Syaoran asked her, glancing to her strained face out of his peripheral vision.

The sudden gesture threw Tiki off-guard, and a relieved smile stretched across her features. "Yes, sadly," she admitted sheepishly, "I'm not really sure why, but my legs won't work properly. Maybe I shouldn't have skipped breakfast and lunch…" Her stomach rumbled heartily in agreement with her words. Tiki giggled, embarrassed. "Sorry," she said again, referring to her helplessness. It seemed she was always causing trouble, whether she meant to or not. This fact was starting to make her feel a little guilty.

Syaoran picked up on that, which he was able to make something out of and felt that was good. The fact that she felt that way was improvement over her reckless ways, in his opinion. However, he brushed off her apology, stating simply, "Don't worry about it."

He helped her along the hallway, taking care not to walk his normal stride. It would be a bit large for the small airbender to keep up with while her legs were being so sluggish. "Let's get some food then. You really shouldn't skip meals." Thankful he even got to eat each meal, Syaoran never turned down a chance to eat if he could help it. And training with the lieutenant and her soldiers had only solidified that. Food was good, and food was energy. "You're going to get thrown out of whack if you don't eat regularly," Syaoran advised.

"I'm so hungry I could eat as much as a sky bison," Tiki mumbled, her old self returning with every wobbly step she took. The tingling in her legs was growing into prickles, which she hoped was a good sign. "Did you know they have three stomachs?" she asked him, feeling as if her point was not driven home unless Syaoran was made aware of this fact. "That's how hungry I am."

Not too far from them, Tiki could see the behemoth figure of Shun, speaking with ZanYi. She could not hear what they were saying, but Shun was smiling at something, and ZanYi looked a tad out of her element. What were they discussing, she wondered? "Hey!" the tiny airbender called, earning Shun's attention. "All done with your meeting with Zaron?"

"Yep," Shun replied easily, turning his head to wink at ZanYi. "More importantly, what happened to you?" he asked, quirking a brow at the way Tiki was leaning against Syaoran, with her arm around his shoulders. She gave the giant waterbender a pained look.

"My legs feel funny," she explained, hobbling to a stop when she and Syaoran finally reached ZanYi and Shun. "Syaoran's being nice and helping me get to the mess hall so I can get something to eat."

"Really?" Shun inquired, grinning. So the two had worked their differences out after all. That was good. He knew Tiki was not the type to hold a grudge for long.

"Yeah, really," Syaoran affirmed, though once he stopped, he did drop Tiki's arm so that it was no longer around him. He glanced from Shun, to the lieutenant, and back. The two of them had clearly been in the middle of some conversation when they'd approached. Shun seemed rather happy about it, albeit it his teacher looked mildly uncomfortable. The Avatar had not missed Shun's hand on her shoulder either, and while a part of him riled to disagree with it, on the whole he knew that Shun was just being friendly, whatever their topic was.

With a quick shake of her head, ZanYi gathered her wits about her and stepped closer to the group, surveying both Syaoran and Tiki. They seemed to have patched things up, which was always a positive within a team. "Well good," she praised aloud, "because we're stuck with each other for now, so the less fights, the better."

Syaoran nodded in agreement, watching as the firebender quickly recovered. Her stern eyes met his gaze for a moment, and Syaoran was a bit embarrassed enough to look briefly away. ZanYi thought nothing of it. "Syaoran," she said, and the young man perked back up, waiting and expectant, "help Tiki get some dinner, and then rest up the rest of the night." ZanYi looked back to Shun and added, "Shun, go ahead with them. I have to attend some meetings in order to ready for our departure."

ZanYi nodded to each of them, and Syaoran was disheartened to watch as she walked away, leaving their midst as usual. It seemed she always had other matters to attend to, but Syaoran supposed it came with the territory of leading two special teams.

"Oh, and Tiki?" ZanYi called back, face straight as she nodded to the airbender, "Good to see you're feeling better." And then she continued on her way, leaving them behind. Syaoran watched as she left and contained most of the disappointment at her quick departure.

Tiki stared after the disappearing lieutenant, blinking rapidly. ZanYi continued to surprise her every day. First, she defended Tiki against a brute of a firebender, and now she was thankful for Tiki's wellbeing. Was the tiny airbender beginning to grow on ZanYi?

Shun's thoughts ran along the same lines as Tiki's and a fond smile stretched over his face. ZanYi was a kind woman indeed… though Shun was beginning to suspect that he was one of the few people who even saw her that way.

Turning back to the ones Syaoran was left with, he said "Well, let's get going then?"

"Yeah, let's eat," Shun agreed, offering Tiki his arm to relieve Syaoran. She gladly clung onto his huge forearm, swinging from it like a monkey.

"To the mess hall, Jeeves!" she directed, making Shun chuckle. Now here was the Tiki he knew. Regardless of her rather reckless and mischievous side, this was the Tiki that Shun liked best.

* * *

The time was almost upon them to leave the Omashu base. Shun sat astride his bike, adrenaline beginning to pump through his veins. He knew he wouldn't be able to fly with Ai like usual—he had to stay at a low speed so he could be near everyone else—but it was exciting for him to be able to take Ai out on the road again… or the woods, rather.

He spotted ZanYi a couple feet away, speaking with one of her soldiers.

"Are we almost ready to go?" he asked, clearly eager. He revved his motorcycle, as if Ai's roar would speed up the process. A giggle behind him alerted Shun to the fact that Tiki had snuck up on him. She was leaning against the back part of his bike, smirking up at him.

"It's been a while since you've spent quality time with Ai, huh?" she teased, pushing off from the bike to stride up to Shun's side. "She must've been so lonely."

"Well, Ai's not really much of a complainer," Shun explained, playing along. "She knows I have stuff to do, so when I do get a chance to hang, she welcomes me with open arms."

"You need a girlfriend, Shun," Tiki decided, avoiding the playful swat Shun aimed at her.

"Seriously," ZanYi agreed, finally walking over. She let her hands rest on hips, looking from the motorbike to Shun. "You need to get yourself one that doesn't require to be oiled every once in a while," she told him with a pointed stare. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Syaoran walk up to her side, and she turned to him next. "Are you ready to go?"

He nodded to her, readjusting the strap of the borrowed duffel on his shoulder. "Yes, Lieutenant," he answered her, meeting her golden gaze. ZanYi nodded in acknowledgement, then looked to all of them. "Then we're ready to roll out."

Syaoran was going to say something else to her, but she moved on quickly to gather her soldiers. His shoulders slumped a little and his lip furrowed, irritated. "She never stays in one place, does she?" he grumbled under his breath, eyes watching as she walked amongst the AKs. He did not have to wait long to hear from her again, because soon ZanYi's voice rose up again.

"Let's move out!" she ordered in a loud voice, firm and official.

"She's a busy woman, Syaoran. Don't take it personally," Shun encouraged the Avatar before revving the engine on his bike once more. "You ready, Teeks?"

"…I'll walk this time," Tiki decided unexpectedly. Shun raised his eyebrows, but as the AKs began to move, he shrugged his massive shoulders.

"Suit yourself," he said, putting on his helmet before speeding to the front of the unit. This left Tiki to fall into step beside Syaoran. The tiny airbender wanted to talk to him, but in light of their reconciliation, she wanted to be careful not to push the wrong buttons this time around. Her thoughts drifted to the brief information he had given her about his family a few days ago, and her curiosity drove her tongue into motion.

"So which one of your parents do you look like, Syaoran?" she asked, inspecting his face as she struggled to put an image to his parents. "What about your younger sister?"

Syaoran looked down at Tiki like she was nuts, which he very much thought on a normal basis. So it should not have surprised him as much as the question did. He attributed it to the out of the blue timing. "Um, I take after my dad," he said with a bit of confusion. "And my sister…" he trailed off a bit, thinking about her, the way her eyes teared up as he'd left. Syaoran didn't like the thought.

"She looks like my mum," he finished quickly and rushed. Syaoran looked at her with a quirked brow. "Why don't you catch up to Shun and ride with him?" Syaoran quickly switched topics, eager to drop the matter of his family. He did not want to think about them, what they had to be going through in his absence.

His gaze left the short airbender to search amongst the pack of firebenders around them. They found what they were searching for at the front, leading the pack. Syaoran could tell it was ZanYi just from the way she carried herself, how confident her step was and the straightness of her gait. It seemed like that was the only way he could see her—from behind. She never lingered long enough to be seen any other way.

"Because you looked lonely," Tiki explained. She followed his gaze and was unsurprised to see that he was watching the lieutenant. He always had that longing look in his eyes nowadays, whenever he looked at ZanYi… Tiki wondered if he was aware of it. At the Avatar's suggestion that she go hang out with Shun, the tiny airbender's shoulders slumped. "Am I bothering you?" she asked, suddenly self-conscious. The events of three days ago taught her a valuable lesson: Tiki did not like fighting with Syaoran. But maybe he was still irked with her and was trying not to show it. She began to fiddle with one of the ends of her twin tails, her display of insecurity. She was no ZanYi—of course Syaoran did not want to be bothered with her right now. Well, Tiki was not about to force her company on him.

"I'll just go, then," she announced. Without warning, she summoned her air scooter and sped away, halting only to land behind Shun on his motorcycle. The giant waterbender did not expect this; the handlebars jerked under his grasp, but he was able to gain control a second later.

"Teeks, don't do that!" Shun scolded, turning to find Tiki sitting behind him. "You startled me." Then the giant waterbender frowned. "…What's wrong?"

Tiki blinked innocently up at him. "What do you mean?" she asked, genuinely confused. Nothing was wrong. Why was he asking?

Frowning, Shun pulled Ai to the side and removed his helmet to place it on one of the handlebars. He turned to the side and propped up one of his arms on a raised knee, his free hand braced against the back of the motorcycle so he could lean down and peer into Tiki's face.

"Come on, Teeks, you know I know you better than that. And you look like you're about to cry. What's the problem?" Shun coaxed, his voice gentle.

She looked like she was about to cry? Strange. She didn't feel like crying… or she didn't, at least, until Shun said something. Now the tiny airbender could feel the moisture gathering in her eyes. She violently shook her head, forcing the tears back. She did not feel sad, so why should she cry? It was all very confusing.

"Don't mind it, okay, Shun? Let's just ride," Tiki begged. Shun's frown deepened, but Tiki had adopted that stubborn look that said quite plainly that she didn't want to talk about it. So what else could he do but shrug and rev up his bike once more?

"You know the drill," he said as he plopped his helmet over Tiki's small head, "keep the helmet on and don't let go."

"Roger," Tiki agreed, and they were off once more. She clutched the back of Shun's leather jacket, thinking hard. Why was she upset? Syaoran hadn't been mean to her at all. He was even polite enough to answer her intrusive questions. So why did his wish for her to leave his side hurt so much? Tiki didn't understand it. So she locked the perplexing feeling away to examine at a later date and instead tried to enjoy the ride with Shun.

ZanYi had watched the exchange ahead of her, but found nothing particular about it. If anything had to be surprising, it was that Tiki had not started off with Shun on his bike. But she did not really care. What that did mean was that the Avatar was on his own in the rear.

The lieutenant looked back in the mass of people behind her, finding Syaoran quite easily, as his gaze was already on her. She found that strange, but paid it no heed. And while ZanYi knew he was quite safe around all of her soldiers, with him being the Avatar, she knew she would be more comfortable if Syaoran was within her reach. ZanYi gestured her head to signal him to move up with her, and Syaoran's eyes widened in surprise. He did not need to be told twice, however. Syaoran made quick steps to shift to the front next to ZanYi, his gaze curious and bewildered as he looked over at her. "Yeah, Lieutenant?" he asked her, expectant.

"I'd rather have you up here where I can see you, in case something happens en route," she explained, only briefly looking to him before focusing on what was ahead.

Syaoran could not decide whether to be disappointed with her reason, or elated that for whatever the reason, ZanYi wanted him close to her. He decided on the latter, and a brief, but irritating pink tinged his cheeks before he looked away from her, scratching the back of his head. "Well, okay then..." he mumbled, trying to brush it off. It wasn't a big deal. Still for once he was at her side, not looking on from behind.

Okay, maybe that part was a big deal.

* * *

Half the day was gone, and Tiki was beginning to get bored. She thought about jumping off of Shun's motorcycle and summoning her air scooter to ride the rest of the way—they weren't too far now, she guessed—but since the giant waterbender had told her not to let go, she would have to ask him to pull over first.

As if he had read her mind, Shun did stop his motorcycle—quite abruptly, in fact. If Tiki hadn't been wearing his helmet, she would have smashed her face against his broad back. Pulling said helmet off now, Tiki peered up at the back of Shun's head in confusion. He was quite stiff, and Tiki could see that he had a death grip on Ai's handlebars… what was the problem? As Tiki hopped off the bike and moved to Shun's side to ask just that, a scene of devastation caught her eyes. Demolished metal lay before them, the scars of battle looking a few days old. But other than that, there was nothing above ground left of what once served as a Resistance base, the warehouses that shadowed them long gone and desecrated, demolished.

"W-what happened…?" Tiki breathed, her eyes wide as she took in the destruction. As she took a hesitant step forward, a sudden movement in the surrounding trees caught Shun's eye. Without hesitation, he threw himself over Tiki, knocking her to the ground. She was about to yell at him for doing something so unexpected when a metal rod pulsing with electricity embedded itself into the ground, inches from her nose.

"It's an ambush!" Shun roared, pulling Tiki to her feet before getting into a battle stance, his canteen at the ready.

"Again?!" Tiki cried, her back to Shun's, wondering at the odds of their Resistance camps being amushed twice. But sure enough, Shun's words rang true, and a storm of soldiers rained down from the surrounding trees to attack.

"Everyone, formation!" ZanYi quickly ordered back, grabbing Syaoran's arm to pull him behind her, "Cover the team!"

Despite the chaos escalating around them, the alarmed Agni-Kais acted quickly, who quickly made a move to create a wide berth around them, Shun, and Tiki. And they did not enclose them in it, backing in, but rather tried to repel the foes back. As a chi blocker or two would slip past the wall of firebenders, ZanYi would make quick work of them, a blazing ball of fire.

But even she couldn't stop everybody trying to come at him. So when Syaoran saw the Neo-Equalists coming up behind her, Syaoran launched a boulder at the man, sending him flying back. "What do we do?" Syaoran yelled out, watching more and more drop from the trees. These soldiers had known they were coming, and they were ready for them.

ZanYi realized it too, and and it made her all the more irritable. She fended off more men coming towards Syaoran, only to see them continue to come. It was like a never-ending wave.

Seeing that ZanYi was becoming overwhelmed, Shun rushed over at once. Silently cursing that they were not closer to the waterfall, he made the most of his water whip against the enemy. But it seemed that, every time he took down one Neo-Equalist, three more rushed in to take up the fight. Shun grit his teeth and fought hard, but the enemy had numbers on their side, and their troops were wearing down fast.

Tiki had the brilliant idea to summon up a tornado. It worked at first: enemy soldiers were being sucked into the vortex left and right. But it was when the tornado began to engulf AKs that Tiki had to unfortunately dismiss the force of nature. And still, more were coming.

"There's too many of them!" Tiki cried, narrowly avoiding capture twice in a row. How were they expected to survive an ambush of this degree? It was too much to ask to get lucky twice.

Shun, though he did not like it, was forced to agree with Tiki. There was no way they could win this fight. They had to get out of there—fast.

His eyes came to rest on Ai, the motorcycle lying on its side after being abandoned in the fight. Inspiration struck him, and he rushed over to his bike as fast as he could. It would be somewhat of a tight fit, but Ai was a large motorcycle, and if Tiki could keep up with them on her air scooter…

A chi blocker rushed at Shun unexpectedly. Without thinking, the giant waterbender roundhouse kicked the man in the face, wincing when he heard the pop of a dislocated jaw. Resisting the urge to apologize, he hurried on and made it to Ai without further incident. As he straddled the seat of the bike once more, one lively roar from Ai assured Shun that she was still running just fine. He sped away through the crowd of fighting benders and non-benders, stopping only when he reached the rest of Team Avatar.

"Tiki, summon your air scooter and follow me!" Shun instructed. Tiki gave a nod before blowing a gust back at a wall of Neo-Equalists that were steadfastly approaching. "ZanYi, Syaoran, get on!" he commanded further, meeting ZanYi's eyes and willing her to understand.

If the enemy won today, if they succeeded in capturing Syaoran and learning of his identity, it was all over. They had to escape, and it was now or never.

ZanYi blasted away another set of foes and whirled to Shun, disbelief in her eyes. "Are you kidding me?" she barked, but then she looked around them. Neo-Equalists were everywhere. There was no way even her AKs could keep everyone safe, and without the training to deal with this sort of scenario, Syaoran, Tiki, and Shun would be at a higher risk.

"Lieutenant Tsong!" Syaoran pleaded, stuck between Shun and her. Seeing more rush closer to them, he raised a tone wall and thrust it at them, successful. And even as more came closer to them and ZanYi fought them away, he could see the strain on her face, the gears working inside her head.

"Lieutenant!" another voice called her, and ZanYi turned to it, one of the older men in her unit. The stalwart soldier looked her in the eyes, panting and heaving his shoulders. "Go with them. We can handle this. Get the Avatar out of here."

ZanYi wanted to refuse, to stand and fight alongside her soldiers. And looking at the man, she knew that he knew that too, which is why he was standing up to her. The Avatar had to get out of there, and her primary orders were to him. And just as she had ever hated it before, she hated it then as well.

"Lieutenant Tsong!" Syaoran beckoned again, sounding even more desperate for her to make a decision. With great reluctance, she nodded to her soldier and jogged over to Syaoran and Shun.

"Let's go!" she finally caved. Syaoran jumped onto the motorcycle, making room between him and Shun for her to sit. But he was surprised for her to push him against Shun's back, perching backwards on the bike herself then after. "Hang on to Shun," ZanYi ordered him, facing back to the chaos with blazing hands. "I'll cover us."

Syaoran was not eager, but he wanted to get out of there, so he grabbed on tight to Shun's clothes. "Get us out of here, Shun!"

"Hang on!" Shun called over the roar of his motorcycle. He bent over the handlebars as, like a bullet, Ai shot through the fray, heading past the demolished base to a new patch of the forest. "Tiki!" Shun shouted, looking for her. The tiny airbender sped up to his side, her air scooter whirling quickly.

"Here!" she chimed, giving Shun a nod, since her hands were not exactly free. Shun returned the gesture.

"Stay close," he instructed.

"Yes, sir!" Tiki chirped, almost grinning at the irony of the situation. Her amusement vanished once she realized they were still being pursued. ZanYi was doing a great job of warding them off, but Tiki thought she should help, in any case. When an attacker got too close, Tiki ran him over with her air scooter. "You guys need to learn when to quit!" Tiki advised the most recent poor soul that was thrown back by a well-aimed fire blast from ZanYi.

And, as if they took her advice to heart, the soldiers suddenly stopped coming after them. Whether they did not have the manpower to keep after them or if they were playing a trick, Tiki did not know. After five minutes of nothing else happening, however, Tiki was certain that they had vanished for good… or for today, anyway.

"Shun! Hey, Shun, slow down! I think we lost them!" Tiki announced, speeding back up to Shun's side. This did not assure the giant waterbender; rather, he shifted into a higher gear that caused Ai to rumble even louder and move even faster.

"I want to be _sure_ we lost them!" Shun called over to Tiki, his eyes intense as he sped through the trees, the path ahead of them sloping higher and higher. Tiki caught a few glimpses of the waterfall in the valley down below, where she had shared happier times with Syaoran, ZanYi and Shun. The tiny airbender chewed on her lip, wondering what could be in store for them now.

* * *

**A/N from DJ: We've done it! Already, after only a couple months, as new to the area, "Warring Earth-Fire" has gotten 1,000 hits! And that's all thanks to you guys for reading! Really, we're so excited by this, because, for us, this is a big deal. So we wanted to thank everyone who's been reading so far, continuing to read, or just started reading. We wish we could hear from you all, but knowing that we have readers out there either way is encouraging! So on behalf of Eva and I, THANK YOU!  
**

**Now, onto the shout outs for the week:**

**Japaneserockergirl: Sadly, even though Zhao was taken out by Koizilla in Season One of ATLA, we're not counting out chances that he'd already had offspring waiting back on the homeland of Fire Nation by that point. As you can see, the family lineage of ignorance has continued through the generations -_- Alas, at least Zuko's line continues to trump, that's all I can say! xD**

**Hammy 101098: Thanks for the favorite! I hope you continue to enjoy the story and that we get to hear from you sometime!**

**On that note, can't wait to hear from you guys and hope you enjoyed the read. Until next week, signing off!**


	15. The New Plan

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire**

**By Twins of the Pen**

**Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

* * *

Night had fallen by the time Shun slowed down—and it was not by his choice. Ai had been making whining noises for the past half-hour while Shun steadfastly ignored the gas gauge that told him quite plainly that Ai was running on an empty tank. It was only when the motorcycle started losing speed that Shun consented to steer into a nearby town. It was there, on the outskirts of this town, an industrial district, that Ai gave a last burst of speed, finally puttering to a stop behind what appeared to be a factory. Everywhere around them otherwise was woods and darkness, much of the night sky obscured by tree cover. The smell of gasoline and salt water permeated through cool air. Shun planted his feet solidly on the ground, balancing the motionless motorcycle. He sighed and patted the side where Ai's name was emblazoned.

"Thanks, Ai. You were great," he praised the bike before turning to look at the others. "Everyone all right?"

Tiki, finally able to dismiss her air scooter, wasted no time in collapsing on the ground.

"I'm tired," she complained, lying flat on her back, her tiny chest heaving with exhaustion. The day seemed like it stretched on for millenniums. And it had started out so pleasantly too… How had everything gone so wrong? Tiki sat up, looking at the others with confusion in her gray eyes. "How did they know?" she asked, trusting that she didn't need to explain who she meant. "How did they figure out the Avatar was coming back to the base today?"

Syaoran hopped off the back of the motorcycle, happy to be able to detach from Shun at last. "I have no idea, Tiki," he told her honestly, starting to pace about, restless. His legs were sore from hugging the bike for so long, but they ached to be stretched, so his anxious habit worked. "I mean, who even knows I was there to begin with?"

"Only those at that base and the soldiers at Omashu," ZanYi answered, desperately seeking the answer as well. It was all that had plagued her since she had begun to be able to pay less attention to defending them.

The lieutenant slipped off of the bike, only to lean against the seat as she tried to think. Syaoran racked his brains as well, desperately seeking an answer. "Well, it wasn't a tracker like last time, right?" he asked, more seeking verification. All of them had been checked for bugs before they left Omashu. ZanYi nodded, her brow furrowed in thought. "Then how did they know we were coming?" the earthbender inquired again, waving his arms emphatically, "It's not like someone told them!"

Syaoran noticed the lieutenant's face tense up, a look of stillness pass through her usually stoic gaze. It was as if a chill had just run through her, and not just from the late spring night. "What?" he asked, looking at her a bit concerned, "What's wrong, Lieutenant?"

ZanYi stood and walked a couple paces away, holding her head, as if she could not believe something. And Syaoran could not tell what it was, until she spoke up after a moment of tense silence.

"It was me," she mumbled, and Syaoran thought for sure he had heard wrong. But ZanYi turned back to face them, her expression in a state of anger, of shock. "The only people who knew we were coming back today were those at the base, and I sent them my notice this morning. When they didn't respond, I just assumed the general was busy at the moment. It happens all the time…" ZanYi looked into Syaoran's eyes, bewildered and guilt stricken. "But they were already gone… I gave us away."

This realization weighed heavily on everyone, but Shun could tell that ZanYi was already beating herself up for making such a mistake. He searched for the words needed to comfort her, but Tiki beat him to the punch.

"But that wasn't your fault, ZanYi!" Tiki jumped in immediately, perching herself on the end of Shun's motorcycle and peering worriedly at the lieutenant. "You were only doing your job! You couldn't have known your message would be intercepted! You're not to blame!"

As much as Shun wanted to voice his approval of Tiki's words, he somehow knew that such assurances were useless. ZanYi was used to being a leader, one who scolded her underlings when they made a blunder. But the fact that she herself had made such a costly mistake had to be eating at her, and since none of her superiors were around to shout at her for it, she was going to be kicking herself for a long time. Again, Shun wished for the words that would ease ZanYi's guilt, but none would come.

"What's done is done," he ended up saying, putting Ai's kickstand down so he could approach ZanYi. "We don't have time to worry about what happened and why. Every minute we spend out in the open is a minute wasted. We need to get somewhere safe as soon as possible, because you can bet more NEs will be looking for us within the hour."

Shun rested his hands on ZanYi's shoulders, his gaze firm as he met her eyes. "ZanYi, we need you now more than ever. Keep it together and think: how do we proceed from here without putting ourselves in further danger?"

Somewhere nearby, the horn of a boat sounded, but Shun hardly paid it any attention. If ZanYi gave in to her guilt, they were all finished. Though he wished he could give her a break, ZanYi was their leader, and Shun felt he had to remind her of that fact.

Syaoran was still speechless, as if the betrayal had come from the least likely source. Even the lieutenant could make mistakes, he supposed, but it just did not seem real. He walked over to where the rest of them stood, looking closely at ZanYi's shell-shocked face. "Shun's right, Lieutenant," he agreed, trying his best to reassure her in any way he could. "You're the best hope we've got now."

ZanYi looked at the Avatar's beseeching face, as if he were trying to make her understand the words that came from his mouth. Then her amber eyes went to Tiki, who stared at her anxiously. And lastly, ZanYi's gaze went to Shun, closest to her and intent on her. It was those three faces that reminded her that the battle was still on, that they were not in the clear yet.

So she could not give herself a reprieve, a reprimand. The very least the firebender could do was keep them away from the enemy soldiers. "You all are going to be just fine," she finally spoke, forcing confidence into her voice. The lieutenant paced away from Shun's grasp, a crooked finger to her pursed lips as she thought of a plan.

"We've got to lie low now, go off the grid," she stated the obvious. "We need to get you guys somewhere the war hasn't reached…" The boat horn sounded again, and it was then that Syaoran could see the fire start to come back to her eyes. She seemed to debate the idea, and have some hesitation about it, but the situation seemed to demand it, because eventually ZanYi resigned to it.

"I know where we're going," she told them, facing them again. ZanYi ripped the dead comm unit from her person and smashed it under her boot, as if that would prevent even the off-chance of being overheard. "And I know how we're going to get there."

"Where? And how?" Syaoran piped up immediately, ready to be of any help he could be. ZanYi frowned a bit, but not unhappily, more like bitterly.

"Somewhere they won't be able to find you easily. I'm going to be pulling in some favors." She walked up to Syaoran and stared him in the eye, intent and full of conviction. "You are going to be safe with me, Syaoran. I'm not going to let this happen again."

Syaoran watched in shock as she then moved around him, walking off towards where the horns were being sounded. He had not expected her vow, and it made him a little embarrassed inside. Then again, he guessed, it also reminded him how she did not see him as a man, one that could stand on his own. And then it brought another point to light. Pointing his thumb after her, he looked to the other two with a quirked brow, asking, "Did she even tell us where we're going?"

"Nope," Shun replied, looking amused, "but it's probably better this way, since it would be very bad if we were overheard."

The giant waterbender began to follow after the lieutenant before a thought struck him. He turned to stare at Ai, her glossy paint job gleaming in the moonlight. Tiki watched as Shun's face undertook the very same changes ZanYi's did when she was reaching her decision of where they were to head next. With a heavy sigh, Shun approached his beloved motorcycle, put the kickstand up, and wheeled it away to a ravine they passed when they entered the port town. The giant waterbender tensed, as if bracing himself, before shoving Ai off the edge to tumble into the ravine with a distant crash. Tiki gasped.

"Wha—Shun! Why did you do that to Ai?!" Tiki exclaimed in horror, gaping at Shun as he came back with a pained look on his face, as if someone very close to him had passed away.

"It'll make it harder for them to find us this way," he explained, sounding depressed. "It had to be done… Come on, let's go." Straightening his spine, Shun walked away, resolutely following after ZanYi. He would not give into despair, not here. It was only a motorcycle, after all.

Tiki followed after him, still staring. "That had to have taken a lot of strength," she commented sadly, "He loved that motorcycle."

Syaoran nodded an agreement, but otherwise silent as he followed after ZanYi's steps as well. It certainly had to have taken a lot for Shun to let go of his bike—to push it into the ravine, even. But his mind wandered back to the soldiers his teacher had left behind, fighting a battle that she now knew to be her mistake. Something inside him stirred and he knew that Shun was not the only one who had to sacrifice something that night.

Proceeding in ZanYi's stead, eventually she led them through the industrial sector to a harbor. Few street lamps lit the docks, and there were few boats left in the dark, shifting waters. The lieutenant analyzed each, as if debating which one to take. Eventually, her stare landed on one closest to them, to the address on the cargo being loaded. It wasn't all that close to where she wanted them, but all they needed was to be out in the open water before jacking one of their small watercrafts. Marginally satisfied, she looked back at the others. "We're commandeering a ride," ZanYi informed them, keeping them hidden in the shadows of the warehouses.

Creeping to peer out around the corner, she found some men loading up the large freighter, others nearby talking. It looked like the best place to slip a ride on. "We're going to have to be very quiet and sneak on very carefully," she told them. ZanYi looked around before finding exactly what she was looking for: an electrical box.

Syaoran guessed what was going to happen next, as he'd seen it in reverse before. He watched as the lieutenant zipped static charge in her fingertips before she set them to the box, sending it short-circuiting. The few lights along the area went out, and the men on the docks were sent into a tizzy of confusion. "Now," she whispered in the dark.

Scurrying forth in the darkness, Syaoran kept close to the lieutenant's heels, followed by Tiki and the rear taken up by Shun. Once onto the freighter, he watched carefully as the men scrambled about, making sure to press against the wall of the hall they had entered onto. As it cleared, ZanYi looked back to them. "We're going to have to find a place to lie low, for now, until we get out in the open water and can take one of their smaller boats."

Another reason she'd picked the freighter: it was vast, easier to hide their motley crew on. But then something unexpected happened. She heard voices.

"Sir, the lights are all out on the docks."

"But we did we get everything we needed?"

"Yes, sir. We're ready to set sail."

"Then get on with it!"

ZanYi could have sighed with how relieved she was. What had started as a half-baked strategy had just become the easiest thing in the world. So, with confidence restored, she stepped out of the shadows, ignoring the warning and confused stare Syaoran was giving her. "Lieutenant!" he hissed softly, concerned. But she didn't listen. Rather, she stepped further out, facing down one of the men who had been speaking.

"Well, well, isn't this a nice surprise," she said aloud, and Syaoran thought the woman had finally lost it. But then he watched as the stocky man turned and rested his gaze on her. And watched as realization and recognition set it in.

"Lieutenant Tsong? Lieutenant ZanYi Tsong?" he said, a slow smile crossing his lips. A smirk went across ZanYi's.

"The one and only. How are you doing, Oogi?"

"That's Admiral Oogi, to you."

"Oh, so the bison got a promotion. Whoop-di-doo."

"Watch it, Tsong."

"Not my fault your parents had a sense of humor."

Syaoran could guesstimate that clearly they knew each other, but that did not mean this was not the most puzzling event thus far in this plan—and that was including not knowing what the plan was! "What's going on?" he inquired, looking from the lieutenant to the man she faced.

"Guys," she addressed them, gesturing a hand to the man she spoke with, "meet our escape plan, Admiral Oogi."

Shun peeled himself from the shadows, looking bemused. What were the odds that ZanYi would run into someone she knew here? "Nice to meet you," he greeted the man with a firm handshake. "I'm Shun Jiang, and—"

Tiki popped up in front of the admiral, inspecting every inch of him for some reason only known to her. When she was finished, the tiny airbender pouted. "You don't look like my great-grandpa's sky bison at all!" she complained, her lower lip jutted out in disappointment.

"…And this is Tiki Chouko," Shun finished, resting one of his enormous hands on Tiki's head. "We're glad to have run into a friendly face, after the day we've had."

The admiral looked at Tiki briefly and gruffly, but a part of him was used to the jokes about his name, and he nodded to them. Looking to Syaoran, Oogi quirked a brow. "I suppose you've got a name too, kid?" he grumbled. While Syaoran did not appreciate the enforced sentiment of adolescence, he nodded to the man.

"Syaoran Wong," he answered. Satisfied, Admiral Oogi looked back to ZanYi, a million questions running across his face.

"So what the heck is going on, Tsong?" he asked point-blank, his thick eyebrow raised skeptically and analytically. Oogi's eyes scanned over her companions again before he continued. "You're sneaking onto my ship with a bunch of rag-tag civilians. Just what have you gotten into this time? And without me?"

"Oogi," ZanYi cut him off, piercingly, gravely serious, "I need to call in that favor you owe me."

That seemed to make him even more cautious, eyes narrowing. "That's a big favor to pull in."

"And what I'm going to ask is pretty big as well." ZanYi set her hands on her sides, and steadied her eyes on him. "I'm going off the grid, MIA."

The stocky man let out a low whistle, crossing his beefy arms as he weighed his eyes on the woman in front of him. "Okay, Tsong, you're going to have to explain this one."

"We were ambushed and the base outside of Omashu is gone," she told him. That seemed to register quite a bit and his eyes widened to show that. When he looked at Syaoran, Shun, and Tiki again, she continued, "They're under my protection detail with targets on their backs. I need to get them gone, Oogi, and this will pay back the favor you owe me in full. Now are you going to help me out or am I going to have to take over your ship myself?"

It took the man almost no time to think about his decision, to Syaoran's surprise. The admiral nodded, saying, "You've got yourself a ride. What else do you need?"

"Quarters for us until we reach our destination and your silence on the matter. No is to know we came through here."

This much Oogi seemed to munch on for a moment, and Syaoran thought he was going to reject helping them. But that was not the reason at all apparently. "No one?" he verified, looking straight at her. "You don't want to get a message out to anyone to let them know what you know?"

ZanYi shook her head, adamant. "No one. I've got to go MIA for now."

"Not even your brother?"

Syaoran almost heard the pause between them, and he looked to the lieutenant, watching her face set stiffly. "No. Not even Zaron," she said to his surprise. He looked at her as if she were mad, wondering what kind of uproar the sergeant major was going to be in as soon as he found out she was missing after the ambush. She did not seem to want to take any chances at all of them being found, and Syaoran knew it was her guilt and duty that made it as such.

"Lieutenant," he started, but ZanYi held up a hand to stop him, never breaking eye contact with Oogi.

"Not even Zaron."

"But—!" Tiki began to protest, her face scrunched up in confusion. Why all the secrecy? Couldn't ZanYi at least let her own brother know that she was safe? Before Tiki could verbalize her concerns, however, the hand that was resting on her head moved to cover her mouth. Tiki glanced up to find Shun looking down at her, pressing a finger to his lips.

To the admiral, Shun said, "We would greatly appreciate it if you could help us out, Admiral."

Shun thought he could follow ZanYi's logic: what would stop the enemy from intercepting any other messages ZanYi tried to send back to the camp at Omashu? Any contact the lieutenant tried to have with her comrades was putting them, Team Avatar, and herself in danger. Nonetheless, this decision had to be hard for her. He reached out and gave ZanYi's shoulder a brief squeeze before letting go, willing her to keep strong for all of them… and especially for herself.

Oogi looked from Shun to ZanYi, perplexed and reluctant. "I'll help you, Tsong. You know that," he told her with a frown, "But if your brother finds out that I helped you hide—"

"Then you can tell him I threatened you to secrecy the best way I know how," she cut him off, lifting a hand and sparking it. The admiral got the gist and shook his head, a smirk on his lip.

"You drive a hard bargain, but fine, you win." Oogi turned on his heel to lead them down the hall. "Let's get you guys some quarters and then we can talk about where I'm taking you."

The lieutenant exhaled deeply, the hardest part of this over. She was thankful to Shun and gave him a glance that said so, knowing he'd backed her up. It was hard enough to keep her brother out of anything, let alone on a matter like this. "You're a doll, Oogi," ZanYi smirked while dripping with sarcasm. "A real peach."

Ahead of her, the man scoffed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're hitting on me."

"Ah, but you do know better, so don't hold your breath."

Shun openly chuckled at the banter between the admiral and the lieutenant. It seemed their friendship was solid, and though ZanYi was basically forcing his hand, Oogi had her best interests at heart. They could trust him.

Admiral Oogi led them to a part of the ship that seemed secluded from the quarters shared by the crew, which was good in Shun's mind, since the less the crew saw of them, the better. "This room is usually reserved for prisoners," the admiral explained as he opened the door to reveal a narrow room with just enough space to squeeze two sets of bunk beds against the metal walls. "As you can see, it's not the most luxurious of lodgings, but it should do."

"Whoa, I've never been in a room _this_ small before!" Tiki proclaimed, squeezing through to claim one of the top bunks. "There's barely enough room in here to sneeze! I don't know how you're gonna fit in here, Shun!"

Shun barely heard her. After seeing just how cramped the room was, he gave a very audible gulp. Contrary to Tiki, he _had_ been in a room that small. Smaller, in fact. It still haunted his nightmares, along with needles, lab coats, and anything medical. Tiki gave him a strange look as he took a step back.

"Shun, are you okay?" she asked, jumping down from the top bunk to approach the behemoth-like man with a worried expression. "You're sweating buckets…"

"Fine," Shun mumbled weakly before turning to Oogi. "How do you get to the deck from here?"

"You just go around the corner there and make a left," the admiral explained, a bit perplexed.

"Thank you," Shun replied before he rushed off, moving as quickly as he could. Tiki stared after him until he was out of sight.

"…Maybe he's sea sick?" she suggested delicately, turning her confused gray orbs onto the rest of the group. Why had he suddenly freaked out that way? Tiki didn't understand it. He was fine just a minute ago…

Syaoran fixed Tiki with a deadpan look. "Why would a waterbender get seasick?" he posed, taking one of the bottom bunks. It was much less spacious than the quarters they'd shared in Omashu, but it was about the same size as the ones in the concentration camps. It was not a great reminder, but it was something he knew he could get through.

"He wouldn't," ZanYi answered the rhetorical question, stripping of her jacket and throwing it onto the other top bunk, the one above Syaoran. Force of habit, she supposed, that she picked the top. In case of attack, she always wanted the high ground.

Syaoran turned to her, only to find the lieutenant very close to him in the cramped room, close enough he could smell the faint scent of smoke that she always carried. He had to shift farther down his bed in the end. "Then what's wrong with him?"

"Shun will be fine," she answered curtly, and again Syaoran frowned, narrowing his eyes a bit at her, putout. ZanYi paid no heed. She walked over to the admiral and took the pen out of his chest pocket, grabbing his hand in the other. "I need you to set the ship's course for these coordinates," she told him, writing down a series of numbers on his skin.

Oogi took a look at it, and then looked back at her in surprise. "There? That's quite a distance, Tsong."

"Oogi…"

The admiral shook his head and started to walk away. ZanYi looked back to the other two in their quarters, stern. "I've got to work this out with Oogi and I'll check on Shun. You two stay here and stay hidden." Before Syaoran could even complain, she'd closed the heavy door, locked tight. He let out an exasperated growl, resting the side of his face on his fist. He looked at Tiki in aggravation, "Why are we always the ones treated like toddlers?"

Tiki shrugged.

"Because we're the youngest, I guess," she said, though she could hardly relate to Syaoran's frustration. She was always treated like a little kid, because she possessed both the looks and the behavior of one. ZanYi's treatment of her wasn't any different to any treatment she was already used to… though sometimes it did bug her when people didn't believe that she was actually nineteen years old.

Tiki sat on the bunk bed across from Syaoran's, sitting cross-legged as she thought about the day's events. Her heart cried out for Lili, who had once again gone missing in the confusion of their escape. Tiki fervently hoped her lemur would not get into any more trouble, and would be able to find her soon, whenever they got off this boat.

Speaking of where they were going…

Tiki leaned forward, her face just a few inches from Syaoran's as she whispered in a conspirator's tone, though they were the only two in the room. "Do you think ZanYi's taking us to the Fire Nation?" she asked, her gray eyes sparkling with excitement. "We need to get there by boat, right? Maybe she's going to take you to an ancient firebending teacher to help you master firebending!"

If that was true, it was going to be _so cool_.

"I have no idea where the lieutenant is taking us, Tiki," Syaoran told her, rolling his eyes. That was only the question he'd been asking since ZanYi had taken lead again, and there was still no answer. Though, the earthbender had to admit, the thought of visiting the Fire Nation was a bit intriguing—and a bit horrifying.

"What if there's someone worse than Lieutenant Tsong over there?" he asked suddenly, the idea striking him. She was the only master he'd had for firebending, but what he'd learned from training with the AKs was that being a firebender meant being fierce. And dangerous. The mere thought of a master stricter and harsher than the lieutenant was enough to send him crashing down onto his bed, staring up at the bunk ahead of him.

"I'm gonna die. Either the NEs will kill me or she will," he muttered, pessimistic about his prospects.

Tiki frowned at Syaoran's lack of optimism.

"Now what kind of attitude is that?" she scolded, crossing her arms with a huff. "ZanYi only has your best interests at heart! You should know that! Why else would you fall for her?" Tiki bit her tongue, sensing that such a topic was still taboo. She hurried on with new encouragements. "Have faith, Syaoran. Whatever is waiting for you when this boat stops, you'll be able to handle it. You're the Avatar, so you should believe in yourself a little more. I believe in you."

How could she not? Her great-great-grandfather had been the Avatar. She had been told so many amazing stories about his adventures with friends, and about her great-grandfather's fight with Avatar Korra. The Avatar was predestined for greatness, no matter what. Tiki just wondered when Syaoran was going to start to believe it. Maybe when he was able to make contact with one of his past lives, perhaps. Tiki made a mental note to make an extra effort to help him get in touch with his spiritual side, once it was her turn to teach him the ways of her native bending.

Syaoran turned his head to look over at Tiki. Or at least, it seemed as if he was looking at her, but Syaoran wasn't really seeing her. Her words kept running around his head, as if it made sense, but it didn't. "Yeah, I'm the Avatar," he repeated, but it was not in confidence. It was like he was testing the words, because he did not feel like the Avatar.

Since he'd found out he was the Avatar, all he'd managed to do is haphazardly spew some fire, hide behind the protection of those around him, and have danger stalk his every move. "I'm no Avatar," he admitted. "I'm just a farm-boy."

He sat up, careful not to hit his head as he slung his legs over the side of his bed, leaning over his knees. Syaoran really looked at Tiki then. "The Avatars are legends; I can't even go from place to place without one of you guys getting hurt. I'm treated like I'm precious cargo, but I can't even do the job I'm supposed to do—I don't even know how to do this, or what I'm doing!" To say it was frustrating was an understatement. If he was the Avatar, why wasn't he better at this? Why wasn't he able to live up to the legend? "Maybe I'm not cut out to be the Avatar."

Tiki did something very unexpected just then: she flicked Syaoran's forehead.

"Stop that!" she said forcefully, actually glaring at Syaoran. He was seriously beginning to get on her nerves! And that was saying something. "You _just_ found out you're the Avatar! Of course you can't do your job properly yet: you don't have the necessary skills yet!"

Tiki exhaled noisily, the gust making her hair fan out and her clothes rustle. Still glaring at Syaoran, she added, "Maybe you've forgotten, but not every Avatar before you always possessed the wisdom they needed to do their jobs correctly: Avatar Roku? He ran away because his best friend was his enemy. My great-great-grandpa, Avatar Aang, ran away from his duty for _one hundred years_ until he got his act together. And it took Avatar Korra _ages_ to master airbending! Not _one_ of them became legends without struggling along the way!"

A new avenue of thought struck the tiny airbender, and her indignation turned into disbelief. "You didn't think doing all it takes to become the Avatar was going to be easy, did you?" she asked, "Like you could just snap your fingers and you'd be in the Avatar state?"

Tiki shook her head, her twin tails whipping at the air. "I'm the last person that should be giving you this lecture," she mumbled to herself, almost laughing at the irony. Almost.

"…Being the Avatar takes work, Syaoran," Tiki plowed on anyway, figuring that since no one else was around, it fell to her to kick the Avatar into gear. "The spirits chose you because they saw something in you that qualified you—and _only_ you—to be the Avatar of this generation. You were born with the power, but that's only half the battle. If you want to use this power, you're going to have to work for it."

The tiny airbender crossed her arms and gave Syaoran a disdainful look. "Or are you telling me you want to quit?" she suggested waspishly. On the inside, she shied away from her own words. Tiki did not really think Syaoran was a quitter—he just needed a confidence boost and a kick in the pants. But since ZanYi had proven making Syaoran angry yielded the best results… well, Tiki just hoped he wasn't about to blast her big-mouthed butt right out of the boat.

Syaoran looked at Tiki first in disbelief. Had he stooped so low that she was the one to be lecturing him? That alone was a bit of a wake up call. So then he became indignant.

"Of course I don't think it's going to be easy!" he shouted back at her, riled up. "If it was easy to be the Avatar, then everyone would be able to be it!" Syaoran rose to his feet began to pace again. It was obnoxious to him that she thought him so stupid, to be a quitter. He may have moments of laziness, but never would he quit—his parents had raised him better than that.

"I am not a quitter!" he told her, standing tall and looking into Tiki's eyes. "But how about you try waking up one day and finding out that apparently you have the power to change the world and end a war, but you can't protect your own family? Or protect the people trying to help you? What kind of Avatar is that? Huh?"

He hated that feeling, like he had this innate power within him, but just beyond his fingertips. What he did not realize was at that precise moment, it _was_ at his fingertips: fire encircled his hands.

Tiki noticed the flames dancing around his hands as well. It seemed that, as his temper rose, so too did his firebending abilities. The speculation that a firebender's power was linked directly to their emotions must be true.

But the airbender could not back down now. Not when she was so close to driving her point home. "You're still learning, Syaoran," she insisted, standing up to face up to him as much as she could, their differences in height considered. "Since you're only just starting out, you can't hold yourself to such a high standard. Don't you understand? Look."

Boldly, Tiki reached down and grasped one of Syaoran's wrists. She winced, the flames engulfing his hand scorching her fingers, but she persisted in raising his hand so he could see it.

"The fact that you, an earthbender, can even do this much is a miracle!" she persisted, ignoring the pain in her fingers and the tears that were beginning to gather in her eyes. Syaoran needed to understand this. "I know you want to protect the people you love, but it's an insult to them to lose faith in yourself, when they store so much faith in you."

Tiki's gray eyes shone with tears, but she refused to shed them. Now was not the time to cry. She even refused to blink as she looked into Syaoran's jade eyes. "We believe in you, Syaoran," she said again, this time speaking for his family and his friends as well as herself, "so don't give up hope. You _will_ do great things. You just need to give yourself more time. Until then, everyone will gladly fight to protect you."

The airbender moved a tiny hand to rest over the place where Syaoran's heart beat. Such an act was overlooked daily, taken for granted. Yet every thump that Tiki felt through Syaoran's chest seemed vital.

"…You are precious, Syaoran," Tiki said quietly, her eyes on the hand over his heart. "You carry all of our hopes and prayers and dreams with you. If you were to die… then our existence as benders dies with you. So we will fight and protect you until the day you no longer need protection."

Syaoran stepped back from Tiki, her hands falling as he did so. He just stared at her wildly, beginning to consider more legitimately that the airbender was crazy. His gaze fell to her burnt hand before looking to his now extinguished hands. He had not even felt the fire and yet, it had sparked as naturally as it was for him to earthbend. But it was not natural.

"This is all nuts…" he mumbled to himself. When would he understand? When would he finally get it? Syaoran knew the legends were true, but him? He was no legend.

The earthbender looked to Tiki, water pooling in her eyes, her softened gait. The idea of the Avatar could inspire even little Tiki to calm herself, to make her serious. Syaoran's jade eyes looked then to her hand that had laid on his chest—over his heart. He tugged at the fabric there, as if trying to find something he could not see. Hopes. Prayers. Dreams. They resided in him, she said.

Solemn, he glanced back up to Tiki's face. "You really think I can pull this off?" he asked her, trying to fetter whether she was telling the truth.

Tiki found the strength to smile here.

"Of course I do," she answered, as if that were obvious, "and so do ZanYi and Shun. If we didn't have absolute faith in you, do you think we'd still be standing here with you?"

The burns on her hand hurt. Tiki glanced down to find that the damage was minimal. She could get Shun to heal them later. So as she pushed the thought to the back of her mind, she moved her hand behind her so she wouldn't have to look at it. The burns still stung, but Tiki found that she could ignore them a little better if she was not actually looking at them.

"So when you become everything you ever imagined the Avatar to be," Tiki began, her joking demeanor returning, "I'll be right there to say that I told you so."

Syaoran merely shook his head and rolled his eyes. Tiki being so serious for so long was already a feat; why he had even considered it would last was beyond him. "Of course you will be," he acknowledged, shuffling past her to lie down on his bed, knocking her head away softly as he passed. "If only for that reason, you will be."

And, oddly, the idea of someone being able to say 'I told you so' this time was a comforting thought. Normally he hated that. But if it meant he would actually be able to make it through this—and actually be of help—then by all means, Syaoran welcomed it.

* * *

Shun leaned against a railing of the deck, forcing himself to inhale deep lungfuls of salty air. The crewmen that passed him gave him odd looks, but Shun paid no attention to them, and they ended up minding their own business.

'_It's just a room,_' the giant waterbender was telling himself firmly. '_It's just a room you'll need to stay in until you reach your destination. You can't be claustrophobic forever. Get it together._'

Shun tried to pry his hands off the railing and march himself back to the quarters he was to share with the rest of Team Avatar, but just the thought of the room made him shudder. He slumped against the railing again, utterly defeated.

"Coward," he mumbled, disappointed in himself. It had been years since he had been held prisoner in that… 'facility'. Just how much time did he need to get over it?

"Uh… beg your pardon," said a voice to Shun's right. He looked over to find one of the crewmen eyeing him apprehensively. "Don't mean to bother you, but, uh… you're rocking the boat."

Shun looked down. He had been moving his hands idly, unaware of what he was doing, and sure enough, there were unnatural waves pushing the wrong way against the freighter. Shun only just now felt the unusual tilt of the boat, and he hastily balled his hands into fists. At once, the waves stopped.

"Sorry," he apologized to the sailor, but he was already gone. Shun took another deep breath and straightened up. This was going to be a long boat ride.

Stepping out onto the deck, ZanYi watched the crew scurry to and fro, just in time to watch as Shun scared away a few of them. That explained what the tumultuous rocking had been as she argued with Oogi, gauging a look at the waterbender. Cutting through the busy workers, she came up on Shun's side and leaned over the rail. ZanYi crossed her arms across the metal, staring out at the water, the seas dark and the few lights of the dock fading into the distance.

"So, want to tell me what's making you so anxious, Big Guy?" she asked him nonchalantly, never meeting his eyes. "And by the way, you're scaring the crew with your waves. Most of them aren't benders, you know."

Taking the cue from ZanYi, Shun stared out into the sea as well. Her words, however, did make him cringe.

"…I'm… not good with small places," the giant waterbender admitted with some effort. The fact that he was claustrophobic was humiliating in itself, but the reason behind it was so much more horrifying that he did not like delving into it. However, Shun did realize that he had probably worried the others with the way he suddenly left their presence, so some sort of explanation was probably needed. Especially if situations like this were going to creep up on him before he could mentally prepare himself.

Shun firmly crossed his arms and sent a guilty look to the crewmen scrambling about.

"I didn't mean to," he mumbled, sounding guilty. "My mind is just… elsewhere."

"No way, I couldn't tell," ZanYi quipped sardonically with a roll of her eyes. She finally tilted her head to look at him, seeing the contrite expression he bore. The firebender turned around then to rest her elbows and back against the rail, continuing to look at him. "But I'd guess to say you are _really_ not good with small spaces," she wagered. "Correct?"

She did know the answer; she could tell by the look on his face. "Everybody's got something they're not good at," she told him aloofly. "You've just got to get through the next day or so. If it helps, stay in the hallway. I'll just tell the others that you can't fit on the bed and need more space. Tiki might even try to join you in the hall."

A gust of sea breeze swept the strays of her dark hair into her face, she brushed it back absentmindedly. ZanYi trained her gaze on him, adding, "I'm not going to make you sleep in there. But you've got to at least stay close by. We all need to stay together."

Shun let out a slow breath, a corner of his mouth turned down. While sleeping in the hall was a much more appealing option to squeezing himself into that tiny room with the others, Shun could not help but feel a little lame. He was relieved to find that ZanYi seemed to understand, but what she must be thinking about him now, he did not want to know. He almost told her that there was no need to worry about it and that he could handle it, but then he imagined the looks on the faces of Syaoran, Tiki, and ZanYi if he woke them in the middle of the night by having a mental breakdown. _That_ would be humiliating.

Silently, Shun nodded. It was the best available option, and he was going to take it. Feeling a little better, he added, "Thanks, ZanYi," a tiny smile accompanying the words. "I'll make sure not to sleepwalk and wander away tonight."

ZanYi smirked and scoffed. "Don't thank me, Shun," she told him, looking away to glance backwards at the midnight waves. "Just think of it as paying you back for all the times you've patched Syaoran and I up."

She really was not concerned about Shun disappearing on board, or sleepwalking, as he'd joked. This was Shun, and he was the most adult member of their group aside from herself. It was safer than letting Tiki loose on the poor crew, or watching Syaoran get himself lost. "It's just for a night or two, anyway. You don't need a bed for that," she reiterated. The journey shouldn't take terribly long. This was one of the fastest freighters in the Resistance. It would get the job done. And so would Oogi, whether he liked it or not.

ZanYi snickered at that.

Thoughtful, the waterbender looked at her. A night or two, huh? That reminded Shun: ZanYi was being very secretive about where they were headed. "I have complete faith in you," he decided to qualify before asking, "but… where are we going, exactly?"

Shun would be lying if he said he wasn't curious. They had the whole Neo-Equalist army—led by a mysterious and sinister man named WeiTai—after them. Was there any place that was one hundred percent safe for them to be? If so, Shun would quite like to hear the name of this place, because right now, he was clueless.

ZanYi gave Shun a cursory look at his question, but then settled her gaze back onto the water behind her. She did not answer him. Instead she just stared out into the darkness, pensive. The wind played with her flyaway strands, but ZanYi did not bother to fight with them this time. She breathed in the salty air, and despite being a firebender, found herself completely at ease at the environment.

"Somewhere the war hasn't touched yet," she told him cryptically, unglancing. "It's isolated and very… traditional." The last word came out more as a huff. ZanYi shook her head a bit in mild irritation, but then she turned from the waves, shoving a hand into one of her pockets.

Fishing out what she was looking for, ZanYi played with the small disc she'd pulled out, watching it carefully. "Ever played Pai Sho, Shun?" she asked suddenly, golden eyes overlooking either side of the tile between her fingers, not that she needed to see it to know what was on it. "They say the White Lotus gambit is an important part of strategy, that whoever calls on it will be able to find a friend."

ZanYi scoffed a bit at the thought before tossing the small tile at Shun. "I wouldn't call them friends, but its help, at least."

Shun's reflexes were cooperative today, so he effortlessly caught the tile. He stared down at the white lotus engraved on the tile, mulling ZanYi's words over. He had never played Pai Sho, but he would have had to grow up under a rock to never have heard of the White Lotus. Formed by the wisest of benders, the Order of the White Lotus worked from isolating shadows, but the ripples of their decisions and actions could be felt for generations.

"Help…" Shun quoted to himself, closing his hand around the tile. He knew of the society, but he did not _know_ them. But ZanYi seemed to trust in their ability, so Shun supposed he would, too… for now.

"I guess we do need a little bit of that right now," Shun decided, taking ZanYi's hand and placing the tile back into her palm. He afforded her a smile as he pushed away from the rail. "But I think we need sleep most of all at this moment. I'd say it's time to call it a night."

ZanYi looked at the tile in her hand, thinking they were going to need a lot more than a 'little bit' of help. And she was not looking forward to the headache that was going to accompany the help they were going to receive. But the lieutenant had no choice; it was the best choice they had at the moment.

"You go on, Shun," she told him, pocketing the white lotus tile and turning so that was fully facing the ocean. ZanYi did not want to look at the man. She crossed her arms over the railing. "I'll be along later," she told him, fingering the dogtags that hung from her neck. Safe off the land, out on the water, she had nothing left she had to give for the time being. Thus ZanYi's thoughts went to her soldiers, praying she hadn't lost anyone in that ambush.

Because their blood would be on her hands alone this time.

What ZanYi was thinking, Shun could only guess. But his guesses had much to do with the AKs they were forced to leave behind when they fled. ZanYi must be so worried.

Much like he had earlier that evening, Shun grasped the lieutenant's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. And that was all, for the giant waterbender found himself at a loss for words. What exactly was to be said to the woman who was forced to abandon the only family she knew? Shun felt guilty in a way, because it was he who demanded they escape. True, the ambush would have been devastating if they had stuck around, but that did not make leaving any easier.

So Shun let his hand slide away from ZanYi's shoulder as he made it back to the tiny quarters they were allotted for the remainder of the boat ride. The door was locked from the outside, Shun discovered, as he tried to pull it open. Undoing the locking mechanism, Shun inhaled deeply and opened the door just wide enough to poke his head in. Syaoran lay on the lower bunk to the left, looking exhausted. Tiki was seated across from him, looking quite pleased about something. Shun wondered if he was interrupting her annoying the Avatar once again.

"Hey, Teeks," Shun called, earning the tiny airbender's attention. "Do me a favor and hand me the blanket from that bunk, will you?"

"Why?" Tiki asked, nonetheless grabbing the blanket and bringing it to Shun. As she handed it to him, Shun's observant eyes caught the burn marks on her hand.

"Tiki, what happened to you?" He wanted to know, grabbing her wrist to inspect the burns she somehow obtained. Tiki laughed and rubbed the back of her head with her free hand.

"Oh yeah, that," she said, as if she had forgotten about the burns until now. "Would you mind healing them for me, Shun? I was checking out the machinery down below that makes the boat run, and I touched something I shouldn't have, ha ha…"

Shun frowned at the tiny airbender. The door had been locked, no doubt by ZanYi's desire. How had Tiki received such fresh-looking burns if she had been locked in this room with Syaoran the whole time…?

Syaoran. Shun glanced at the Avatar, silently wondering whether he and Tiki had had another fight, and he ended up burning her. If that was the case, why was Tiki lying about it? Frowning in confusion, Shun did what Tiki asked and healed the burns.

"Thanks, Shun," she thanked him, handing him the blanket after he returned his healing water back to his canteen. "And why do you need a blanket? You cold?"

"I'm sleeping out here tonight," Shun announced, "the bunk looks way too small for me. Besides, I want to be able to provide a lookout for us. Nowhere is safe at the moment, so we have to be extra-careful."

Tiki seemed to understand the gravity of the situation, for she bounded over and threw the pillow from Shun's supposed bunk at him.

"Just be careful you don't sleep weird. You're gonna have back problems on the hard floor anyway," she warned him. Shun chuckled.

"I'll do my best. Night, you two."

Shun pulled the door closed, leaving it unlocked this time, and set up his makeshift bed right beside the door. He was a light sleeper, so if anyone tried to get into the room unannounced, he would be ready for them. Until then, the siren song of sleep beckoned him into its arms.

* * *

**A/N from Eva: Well, things have taken a turn for the unexpected! All they have to go on is a White Lotus tile, but will that be enough to help them out? You'll just have to return next week and see! :D For now, we have acknowledgements!  
**

**Japaneserockergirl: Can we just express how much we appreciate you for caring enough about our story to want to help us make it better? Thank you once again for your observations, and we're glad you're enjoying the ride! Just hold on-it's going to get rocky from here on out!  
**

**HalfaLeader: Thank you so much! We're so glad you're enjoying so far! We hope you continue to keep reading! :D  
**

**That's all for now! Once again, DJ and I would like to express our gratitude for your continued support in our story! We hope you continue to enjoy, and we'll see you next week!  
**


	16. The Island

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire**

**By Twins of the Pen**

**Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

* * *

Syaoran supposed night had come and gone. At some point, ZanYi must have returned to climb into the bed above his, because he awoke when the woman had slipped back out at some point and Tiki got up and started chatting away. The lieutenant had hardly returned since then, aside from bringing in food at some intervals.

"This is like being in prison," he grumbled, staring at the bed above him. He felt trapped, in a way. He had not even seen the outside of the room; going out to the hall to visit Shun did not count by Syaoran's standards. His days at the concentration camps had been similar. Day in and day out, nothing but empty rooms, sometimes big and sometimes small. At least the food was better here; he was not entirely sure he could say the same about the company.

Just as he was about to snap at Tiki for her horrendous singing again, the door swung open and there stood ZanYi, and this time without food. "We're going to be getting off in a minute, so get up," she ordered, grabbing her jacket off of the top bunk. Syaoran didn't need to be told twice.

"Finally!" he muttered under his breath. "And just where are we getting off?" Syaoran asked her, but he could not even find her eyes to ask her directly.

"You'll see. Just come up on the deck."

"Whoo, freedom!" Tiki cheered, slipping down from her top bunk and beating both ZanYi and Syaoran to the door. Shun was not in his usual spot outside the door—his blanket was folded and stacked nicely under his pillow, and his satchel was missing. Tiki took this to mean that the giant waterbender was already up on the top deck. Without waiting for the other two, Tiki bounded around the corner and up to the deck. Shun was easily spotted amidst the crewmen, and Tiki wasted no time in climbing up the giant's frame to get the best view.

"What is it? What are we looking for?" Tiki asked impatiently as she settled herself on Shun's broad shoulders. Grinning at her enthusiasm, Shun pointed to a landmass out in the distance that was growing steadily in size as they watched. Tiki stared for a minute, then looked down at Shun.

"What is it?"

"I don't know," Shun readily admitted, smiling up at Tiki, "but I have a feeling we're about to find out."

"Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore," Tiki quoted, and Shun laughed.

"What is that?" Syaoran asked, coming up on Shun's side as he looked over the water, seeing the mass of land grow higher and higher to the sky as they sailed closer and closer. He was guessing that it had to be an island. It seemed small in length, but the land touched the skies, mountainous in a way. But mountains out in the middle of an island didn't make sense. "Is that…?"

"Yes, that's a volcano," ZanYi answered his trailing question, coming up behind them. Syaoran whirled to look at her, a bit surprised.

"You're taking us to a _volcano_ for safety?" he questioned her, as if that sentence alone spoke the volumes of insanity it spouted.

ZanYi waved it off. "You'll be fine. It's inactive," she told him. "This was the home of Avatar Roku at one time."

Syaoran then turned back to the large volcanic island with a new appreciation. She had done like Tiki had guessed: ZanYi had taken them into the Fire Nation. But she also took him to the home of a legend, a previous Avatar, the last firebending Avatar. There was something inside of him that stirred faintly, but Syaoran couldn't label the feeling.

The freighter stopped as the anchors dropped, and Syaoran looked back to ZanYi, confused again. "Why are we stopping? Aren't we getting off on the island?" he asked her. ZanYi shook her head.

"Nobody knows we're coming, and I'm not about to bring an unannounced vessel onto the shore," she told him, walking away. Syaoran looked at Tiki and Shun with an iffy glance before following the lieutenant. "We're going to be landing solo," ZanYi told them. She gestured overboard to a pair of jet skis and Syaoran looked back to her. He would have asked if she was kidding, but he knew the lieutenant didn't joke.

ZanYi looked over at Shun with a smirk. "Not everyone can bend water. The rest of us have to find other ways to get across."

"Your loss," Shun joked with a grin. Without hesitation, the giant waterbender jumped onto the rail of the boat, looking down into the depths of the sea below. An exhilarated grin began to light his face as he posed for a dive.

"Shun, wa—AIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!" Tiki screamed as she ended up plummeting through the air with Shun. Luckily, she remembered her jacket glider was tied around her waist, and she released it, catching herself before Shun broke the surface of the waves. When he re-surfaced, she began yelling at him. "Shun, what the heck?! Some warning would have been nice!"

Even from up high, Tiki could tell that Shun was grinning up at her. "Sorry, Teeks!" he apologized as he began to bend a wave for him to ride on. "You're just so light that I forgot you were on my shoulders!"

"Yeah, right! You were trying to kill me!" Tiki griped, gliding away from the grinning Shun. That was a close call… Tiki was still skittish around water after that unfortunate incident at the waterfall. She did not want a repeat anytime soon… or ever.

ZanYi scoffed at the pair, while Syaoran onlooked with understanding. He could not forget how the airbender had almost taken a final plunge shortly after they'd met and it made perfect sense to him that Tiki would not be quite so willing to go for a swim. "Well, I guess it's just us then," he heard from the woman next to him, and then it clicked. Shun could waterbend. Tiki could airbend. Him and the lieutenant were the only ones who couldn't get themselves to the island on their own. Syaoran looked down, seeing two jet skis and sighed, both in relief and dismay—until she spoke again, "Since the other two can get themselves there, there's no point in taking two of them from Oogi."

ZanYi leaped over the rail, diving into the water herself without abandon. The lieutenant came back up quickly and clamored swiftly onto the jet ski below, looking back up the freighter to a dumbfounded Syaoran. "You coming or not?" she asked him with a quirked brow, patting the spot behind her on the personal watercraft.

Syaoran gulped and was unsure whether to be embarrassed or not, but instead, he climbed over the railing and, hesitantly, jumped like his companions. He resurfaced and looked up at the firebender. "How do I get on?" he asked, afraid he'd tip it.

"Climb on the back."

He did as she said and sat behind the lieutenant, a careful space between them. "Okay, I'm on," he told her. However, it was not satisfactory, apparently, because ZanYi tugged him closer, putting his hands on her waist.

"Hang on tight, Syaoran," she told him without batting a lash, looking forward again as she revved up the machine. A red flush hit his cheeks, unused to touching the lieutenant—but then even more uncomfortable that he didn't mind it. "Now," ZanYi began again, smirking ahead of her, "let's go." In that instant, the jet ski took off and Syaoran had to clutch tighter onto ZanYi to keep from falling. His chest was smashed against her wet back, but ZanYi said nothing and did nothing, only zooming ahead with the greatest speed the watercraft could muster, tackling the waves head on.

Shun sped ahead of ZanYi and Syaoran, making sure to keep a safe distance so his wave would not overturn their jet ski. A glance in their direction had Shun smirking: ZanYi appeared oblivious—or maybe just uncaring—but Syaoran's face was bright red as he clung to the lieutenant. The giant waterbender had to resist the urge to call over to the Avatar and ask if he was having fun.

Tiki was already waiting for them at the edge of the island, and Shun was the first to reach her. She was surveying the island with avid interest as Shun jumped onto shore.

"Look, Shun, look! A volcano!" she cried, apparently already over his 'murder attempt' on her life.

"I see it, Teeks," Shun placated with a grin.

"Do you think it's gonna EXPLODE while we're here?"

"ZanYi said it was inactive, so I'd wager not."

"Awww."

The air here was charged with spiritual energy; it made Tiki's hair stand on end. It was no small thing that an Avatar once made this island his home. There was power here, pulsing through the island as if it were a living thing. The terrain was mountainous, the hardened ground oblique and opaque. Even the soft, sandy beach was dark, black and ashened by time and eruptions. The volcano raised up high, reaching the heavens ominously and beautifully in the setting eve. Tiki itched to go explore right away, but as if he was anticipating it, Shun already had a firm hold on the collar of her shirt.

"Stay put for right now, Teeks," he requested an irate Tiki. "There's no need to run off and startle the locals here."

But the 'locals' as Shun had put it, were already upon them. All around them, uniformed men swooped around them, coming from every which way around them from the volcano's hill. ZanYi watched it happening as she rode from the water, her eyes narrowing. She saw the white lotus emblazoned on them, but that did not appease her.

"Hold on, Syaoran," she warned him, and she gunned it faster. Syaoran was obedient, daringly following her words to the letter as he wrapped his arms around her completely. And he was glad he did. The lieutenant had picked up a significant speed and was gaining on the shore. "Um, Lieutenant?" he asked, watching the beach come very close very fast. But at the last minute, ZanYi made a quick swerve along the shoreline, spraying everyone on the beach.

"Hey, back off of them!" ZanYi ordered, detaching quickly from Syaoran as she banked the jet ski on the shore. She leapt off of the watercraft and walked to stand beside Shun and Tiki, Syaoran at her side, as the men had circled around them. "They're with me," she told them, "so stand down, guys."

One man, a younger one from the looks of him in the setting sunlight, stooped low into his stance, eyes narrowing at her. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked, but then he was swiftly knocked upside the head by the middle-aged man next to him.

"You idiot," he told him. He looked to ZanYi, smiling. "Welcome back, Prin—"

"Call me that. I dare you."

The member of the White Lotus gulped quietly before correcting himself. "Welcome back, Officer Tsong," he said.

"It's 'Lieutenant' now," ZanYi corrected again, though with no malice, since the man was taking the effort to call her by the appropriate title.

The men glanced about in surprise, in pride. The head of the group nodded, taking a note of the change. "Lieutenant," he then corrected before gesturing over to the young man at his side, "Either way, forgive him; he's new." The young man got a series of glaring looks from the other men as they congregated together, no longer circling Team Avatar. "If you had let us know you were returning home, we could have been prepared for your arrival."

Syaoran gaped a little, leaning over to Tiki as he stared at the exchange. "Did that guy just say 'home'?"

"I think he did," Tiki whispered back, her expression matching Syaoran's. So the lieutenant had grown up on Roku's Island? Suddenly ZanYi seemed so much cooler than Tiki already thought her.

Shun, other than a slight lift of one of his eyebrows, appeared unsurprised. But he had to wonder why ZanYi seemed so reluctant to return to what was considered her home at least at one point in time. She had seemed less than enthused the night they discussed where they were headed next. But in the end, the giant waterbender shrugged it off. She must have had her reasons. He was, however, intrigued by the fact that the Order of the White Lotus seemed to have lived here with ZanYi on this island for some period of time.

"Not exactly friends, huh?" he muttered to ZanYi out of the corner of his mouth with a smirk. The way they had almost addressed the lieutenant as 'Princess' had Shun thinking that they had probably stayed with the descendants of the royal Fire Nation line at one point in time.

"Don't mess with me, Shun," ZanYi warned him under her breath, the headache she was bound to receive upon her return already starting. Looking to the members of the White Lotus, she told them, "This wasn't a planned vacation, and I'd like to get these guys set up here as soon as possible, if you don't mind."

"Not a problem," the man said. "But I will warn you—"

"He's here, isn't he?" ZanYi cut him off, hoping against hope that she was wrong. However, she wasn't.

"The master is indeed here. You should know that he hardly ever leaves the island."

"Doesn't mean I can't hope he croaked."

Syaoran looked at the lieutenant as if his jaw would fall from its bony hinges. Such harsh words, and he could not tell how much was sarcasm in them. What he could tell was that there was a bit of dread in her tone. And for that, he was a bit scared. After all, who was there that Lieutenant ZanYi Tsong dreaded to see?

He was shaken from his stupor when he noticed the White Lotus leading them up and around the volcano's side, presumably to wherever they were going to be staying. Watching carefully to make sure he could not be heard by his teacher, he looked to Tiki, asking, "Do you think we should be afraid?"

The airbender gave Syaoran the gravest look she could muster.

"We're on an island with mysterious elders and probably some ancient firebenders," she pointed out, "I think we should be _very_ afraid."

"That's right. See to it that you stay out of trouble here, Teeks," Shun warned darkly, though he was grinning. "I wouldn't put it past any of these gentlemen to give you a spanking if you misbehave." Tiki was not happy about this warning, for more reasons than one. But other than her lower lip jutted out in her infamous 'You-Guys-Are-No-Fun' pout, she said nothing more and obediently followed after Shun and Syaoran.

Meanwhile, Shun watched ZanYi from out of the corner of his eye. There was someone here that she seemed to care for even less than Lieutenant Zhou… and that was saying something. Suddenly worried, the giant waterbender leaned over to ask, "You're not going to be fighting any Agni-Kais while we're here, are you?"

Funnily enough, before the words even left his lips, Shun had a feeling that ZanYi would be doing just that before the day was over… if the look on her face was any indication, at least.

The lieutenant glanced at Shun briefly before setting her gaze forward. "Call me lucky if we get through the next ten minutes without one," she answered bluntly. The fire inside her was already churning, on edge. She was not sure quite how bad she was in for, but ZanYi was going to be prepared for anything.

Between the stiff set of her shoulders and the warnings of his comrades, Syaoran was thinking along similar lines, and he did not even overhear the two of them. The whole place seemed like a death trap in itself at this point and he was beginning to wonder why the woman thought them safe there. But if she trusted it, then he would try as well.

Soon they came upon what he could only assume was going to be where they were staying. "Whoa," was all he could utter at the sight. Even if the volcano was not an indicator, there was no doubt this was Fire Nation. The large, expansive structure before them rang it in traditional tones, stretching across the wide divide between the volcano and one of its high, rocky neighbors. The roofs were pointed and tiled, crimson and gold, the building itself a light color. Parts of the building, some of the halls, were all open to nature, and the floors gleamed of wood. It was classical and extravagant.

Turning to ZanYi, the man leading them inquired, "We must continue our patrol, but I do believe you remember where everything is, yes?"

ZanYi rolled her eyes, going up the front steps to the large double-doors of the structure. "It's been a long time, but not that long," she informed him. She was about to open the doors when the man spoke again, stepping away from the building quickly.

"Just be ready—!"

The rest was cut off, because the expansive red doors flew open and fire blasted out of them. ZanYi quickly drew her own fire to deflect it away from everyone, her stance low as she looked up the steps. Syaoran was about to call out to her, but then he stopped at the sight in the doorframe.

Gliding gracefully and purposefully forward, it was an elderly man, his hair whitened with age and lengthened by time. Syaoran could not help but note the odd attire the man wore, robed in rich crimsons and nightly blacks, a bit of his hair pulled up in a respectable topknot, but his beard hanging low.

"Ah," the stranger mused, as if feigning surprise as he looked down to ZanYi, a small smile on his lips, "so the intruder was none other than our wandering princess, finally returning. How long has it been now?"

"It's 'Lieutenant'. And five years," ZanYi answered cautiously, staring up at the old man.

"Oh yes. Five years…" the elder mused. Without removing his hands from the folds of his robe, he jumped and lashed a kick out at ZanYi, full of fire. She flipped down the stone steps to evade it. "Five years, Princess ZanYi. And you return without your brother as well? Typical. The boy never was around—"

"Sifu!" she finally yelled out in frustration, "Save the berating for later and just let us inside!"

"Si—WHAT?!" Tiki exclaimed from behind her hiding place, otherwise known as Syaoran. The elderly man in the old clothes was ZanYi's firebending master?! Once Tiki got over her initial shock, she found that such a revelation actually made perfect sense.

Shun had wrenched the cap off his canteen after the sudden attack, but after ZanYi revealed the man's identity, the giant waterbender found himself pulled up short.

"Sifu?" he found himself asking as well, looking between ZanYi and the elder firebender and back again. He had been thrown off by the unexpected entrance… but yet, considering ZanYi's style of teaching the Avatar firebending, Shun found that he believed it much easier than he would have thought. And a fight had indeed broken out, just like he feared… only Shun now found it a tad amusing. It was the duty of a master to make sure his students kept on point, but after five years, Shun would have thought a hug was in order rather than a fire-blasting kick.

Perhaps this was just the way of the firebenders, something he could never hope to understand.

Syaoran's eyes widened to a near impossible range as well at first. It was no wonder to him why the lieutenant taught him as she did; it seemed quite likely it was how she was taught, if this was the man she called 'Sifu'.

After Tiki's exclamation and his shock wore off, Syaoran found the airbender hiding behind him and scowled. "Hey!" he said, dragging her back out from behind him to stand next to him, "I'm not a shield!" There was no way he was blocking anyone from any flames coming. The earthbender was getting the duck out of dodge if that elder shot at him.

However, the stranger did no such thing. Instead, he smoothly walked down the remaining steps to approach them. ZanYi remained low and eyes narrowed, watching and waiting for another onslaught. But instead, her master stopped in front of her, looking down with a quirked brow. "Are you that paranoid that I will attack from such close range, Princess?" he asked.

"Do you really find me daft enough not to expect it?" she inquired in return. This made the man smile once more.

"I see your memory does not fail you, Princess ZanYi."

"And I see yours has. It's Lieutenant. Lieutenant ZanYi Tsong," she corrected him, but he ignored her entirely.

"You were a princess before you were a lieutenant, and therefore you will be addressed as is your birthright," he told her. With a quick snap of his hand, he hit her in the back, frowning. "Straighten up, and do not allow your manners to escape you as well. Who are your guests that you so rudely brought unannounced?"

ZanYi slowly rose when she realized the fighting was done for the moment, and she glared at the back of the man's head, the headache growing and growing. "Sifu," she said in the calmest, most platonic voice she could muster, "this is Shun, Tiki, and Syaoran." As she introduced each one, she gestured to them. When she came to Syaoran, however, the man stared at him much longer. Syaoran squirmed under the gaze a little, uneasy.

"He's the Avatar, is he not?"

While he gaped at the accurate guess, ZanYi did not seem surprised. "Yes, Syaoran is the Avatar," she affirmed.

Tiki, however, was impressed.

"Wow, how did you know that?" Tiki wanted to know, perking up now that no more fireballs were being thrown around… for the moment, in any case. "Is it 'cause Syaoran has that look about him? Can you sense his aura? Does he have the word 'Avatar' tattooed on his forehead in ink that can only be read by firebenders?"

Shun was off to the side, watching this exchange. He was already trying desperately not to lose it over the way ZanYi's teacher treated and addressed her, as if she were a woman not to be feared, but Tiki's inane questioning sent him over the edge. He turned his back on the group so he could laugh silently, though his shoulders were shaking in quite a telling manner. If this was going to be the norm from now on, Shun was certain he was either going to die of laughter… or by ZanYi's frustrated hand, the latter seeming more plausible.

The elder firebender looked at Tiki with slight amusement, as if finding her out of place. Since she was in ZanYi's company, she was. Nonetheless, he answered her patiently, "Or perhaps because he has the eyes of an earthbender, but fire in his hands."

At that, Syaoran looked down at his hands, surprised to find them ablaze. His concentration was so focused on trying not to flinch under the master's gaze, Syaoran had not realized it was causing the fire to spill over into his grasp. He put them out quickly, embarrassed, looking away from the two firebenders staring at him. "You have not taught him much control yet, have you, Princess?" her master noted flatly, looking to her with scrutiny.

"He's a work in progress," she answered, placing her hands on her hips. Shun's betrayal of laughter was not missed by her, and ZanYi turned her glare onto him next, piercing the back of his head. "He's not the only one with a lack of control," ZanYi observed, directed at Shun.

Alas, her teacher ignored her quip and bowed slightly to the group, "Welcome to my island. I am Master Fei Yin."

Syaoran bowed lowly as well, trying to mimic the traditional placement of his hands as he did so. He must have done something wrong, because the man looked to ZanYi and deadpanned, "You really do have your work cut out for you." Facing the others, he gestured to the grand doors at last. "But come, let us find you some rooms. We can acquaint each other over dinner."

"Ooooh, dinner!" Tiki cheered, the idea of food always perking her up. Eyeing Shun, Tiki asked the elderly firebender, "By the way, could you direct Shun to the nearest bathroom? He needs to shave before people start mistaking the hair on his face for a wolf bat."

The wide grin slipped from Shun's face at that comment. He ran a hand over his chin self-consciously and noticed that he was, indeed, in desperate need of a shave.

"Thanks for that confidence boost, Teeks," he mumbled through the fingers over his mouth, as if he were trying to hide his lower face from view with his hand. Tiki grinned sheepishly.

"I was only joking, Shun," she told him, now feeling a little guilty. But how was she to know that Shun was sensitive about his rapidly growing facial hair? The fact that he complained about it on occasion didn't mean anything to her, of course.

"It's okay, Tiki. You were only speaking the truth," ZanYi told her, looking darkly at Shun still. Syaoran's gaze kept fluttering between her and Shun, as if this were only the calm before another storm between them. From the way things were going with the lieutenant's master, he felt like the coming storm was not going to leave for their duration on the island.

"There is a washroom near the Princess's room, so let us put you all along that wing," Master Fei answered the overall question. Turning, he started up the steps to the home, and, once ZanYi followed, so did Syaoran. Once they reached the doors, the elder opened them, allowing them entrance. Or, at least, most of them. Master Fei blocked ZanYi's path with an arm. "No, not you," he told her strictly.

ZanYi's eyes narrowed at him then, exasperated. "Sifu, I just got here and you're already going to start locking me out?"

"Yes," her master replied promptly. "It's been five years, Princess ZanYi, and do not think I will let that go so simply."

The lieutenant had expected some sort of punishment from the man, but it was starting to become quite clear it was going to be dragged out throughout their stay. If there was one thing she remembered, it was that Master Fei held her accountable for everything, and he was not above grudges.

"Now go, start running," he told her, pointing to the face of the volcano.

"The usual?"

"Multiply it by… oh, let's just say five."

ZanYi had to physically restrain herself from growling aloud, but she knew it would not help her case at all with this man. Frowning defiantly at him, she zipped out of her military jacket and looked briefly over to Syaoran. "Here," she told him, tossing it over. Syaoran caught it easily and as he held it in his grasp, it did not escape him that it smelled just like the lieutenant—a mixture of smoke and wood.

Looking at her three companions collectively, ZanYi said, "Sifu will show you to your rooms. You're perfectly safe here and you can trust him." Not that she was very safe here or could trust him, but that was an entirely different sort of matter. She was about to jog away when her master halted her once more.

"Oh, but before you go, you can light the torches of the hall. It is getting rather dark, after all."

ZanYi looked at him in disbelief. "The torches?" she repeated. "You still didn't get the electricity set up here yet?"

Master Fei scoffed. "Of course not. Too much trouble when the torches work perfectly fine."

"Archaic old dragon," Syaoran could have sworn he heard her mutter, but nonetheless, ZanYi was obedient, stepping into the doorway only to make several quick movements, shooting flames all along the hallway.

"Satisfactory. It's good to know the military has not diminished all of your abilities," Master Fei remarked snidely. ZanYi's hands began to clench and unclench, using the utmost of her control in that moment. Syaoran certainly stepped back, just in case. "Now, go on," the elder encouraged with a hand, "The faster you finish, the sooner you can join us for dinner."

ZanYi let out an irritated huff but nonetheless started down the steps and started jogging up the incline. Syaoran did not envy her at all in that moment. Looking back to the man they were left with, Master Fei smiled at Syaoran and the others. "Come, let me show you to where you will be staying."

As they began to follow, Tiki absolutely gaped at the elder firebender. "Wow," she breathed, impressed. "I've never seen _anyone_ order the lieutenant around like that. Not even her own brother."

"No one we know dares to call her 'Princess' either and gets away with it," Shun noted, still trying to suppress his grinning. Already ZanYi was irritated with his amusement, which he supposed he should feel sorry about. And he would… if Master Fei wasn't so entertaining.

"Which I do not understand," Master Fei announced, looking at the group to usher them inside and into the long halls, "She is a princess, and the heir to a proud and noble heritage. Why she does not accept that is beyond me."

Syaoran was not entirely sure either, but he could only guess that it had something to do with her pride. From what he could tell, the lieutenant was very proud of that title, and she worked hard for it. But then again, Syaoran was never sure of what his teacher was thinking, so he decided to keep his mouth shut on his thoughts.

He focused his efforts instead on observing the hallways at which the master led them down. They were ornate, with columns of a vibrant red that rose to the ceiling. Along the top of the walls, wooden panels bordered, smoothly carved to match ancient flames. Markers of the Fire Nation still prevailed, and it was quickly becoming quite obvious how traditional the man was and therefore why he did not yet switch over to a luxury such as electricity in the modern age.

When he tuned back in, Master Fei was still going on and on—berating, as ZanYi had called it. "Of course her brother has no authority over the Princess. Prince Zaron hardly even knew her as a child, and there is nothing for her to respect about a man that abandoned her."

Syaoran's eyebrows rose all the way up to his forehead. That certainly did not seem like the sergeant major, or anything he would do to the lieutenant. After all, they were talking about the brother that was extremely overprotective, yes? But of course, Master Fei quickly moved on before comments could be made, as apparently they had arrived at their quarters.

"The washroom is there at the end, and the room on the right closest to it is Princess ZanYi's room," he explained properly, "therefore, these three are for the leisurely use of you all, whichever you may decide to take each. I will ensure some fresh towels be brought down for you three, for any friend of the princess is welcome here."

Grinning, he inclined his head to each of them before strolling back the way they had come. "The dining hall is down this hallway and to the left by the mountainside courtyard when you are ready. I do not expect Princess ZanYi to be returning until dessert," he informed them. And then eventually he shifted out of sight, leaving the three behind in the wake.

Silence followed the austere yet friendly master out, and it was not broken until a moment later.

"I like him!" Tiki declared, her face splitting into a wide grin. "He's awesome, for an old guy."

Shun smiled at this, but his face was turned towards the door Master Fei indicated as being 'Princess' ZanYi's room. An unusual intrigue struck the giant waterbender as he stared at the door. What would the room of the young ZanYi look like? What dreams did the firebender harbor when she was but a child? Surely she had not known, back then, that she would be an officer of the military when she grew up?

Shun stroked his chin as he curiously considered ZanYi's room, only to be rudely reminded that he was still in desperate need of a shave. "I'm gonna go clean up," he told the other two as he tore his eyes away from the room on the right to focus on the washroom instead. "Let me know which rooms you two choose and I'll take the remaining one, okay?"

"We'll save the biggest one for you!" Tiki assured him as the giant waterbender made his way to the end of the hall. He smiled fondly at her before disappearing into the washroom. Once he was gone, Tiki whirled on Syaoran with a smile.

"Well then, Avatar Syaoran, shall we inspect your new quarters?" the airbender asked, imitating Master Fei's formal speech while grinning impishly.

Syaoran was knocked from his stupor by Tiki's shameless impersonation. "Watch it now," he warned her, going to the door closest to the washroom and across from the lieutenant's, "if Master Fei is anything like the lieutenant, he might come after you if he heard you." The earthbender opened the door slowly, as if he was not sure whether fire would come shooting out at him. Fortunately, it did not and he was only pleasantly surprised by what was held behind the door. It was a sizeable room, one with a view of the volcano's side. The room was rich in warm colors, the bed much larger and extravagant than he was used to. There was a simple wardrobe across from it, and a trunk at the foot of the bed.

"I think I could get used to this," Syaoran muttered, stepping into the room and onto the lavish rug that covered about a quarter of the room.

"Me too," Tiki enthused, going immediately to the window. The view took her breath away, and she opened the window to breathe in the smell of rock and smoke. A cool breeze wafted past her, and the tiny airbender smiled. "Can you feel it, Syaoran?" she asked as she gazed out the window, her smile one of peace. "This is where one of your former lives used to live. This was his home. And now, for a while, it'll be your home. Talk about coming full circle, huh?"

She closed her eyes to feel the breeze better, loving the energy that flowed through this place. It almost made her feel at home too.

Syaoran glanced around the room and breathed in slowly and exhaled. And he was still. Earlier, Syaoran had thought he'd felt something within him, something moving. And yet…

"Yeah, I've got nothing," he told her, breaking through the silence after a moment. Whatever it was that Tiki felt, Syaoran certainly did not. And while he felt a bit foolish since a wild child such as her could get alleged spiritual vibes from the room and the island, Syaoran did not particularly care at the moment.

The Avatar sat on the edge of the bed, and found that he sank a bit on it. He patted it a bit, and the softness of the mattress almost made him smile, though an expressive sigh of comfort did leave him. He could not recall a time he had ever had a bed that soft—or that large, as a matter of fact.

"You think the lieutenant grew up here like this?" he asked Tiki, glancing about the room, and curious as to how the woman's room looked in comparison. "She did not look happy to be back. Though I can't say I blame her, after everything Master Fei was saying about the sergeant major." Syaoran looked back to Tiki, concerned. "What if we're in more danger here than if we had just run?"

Tiki's expression soured a bit. Here he was, talking about the lieutenant again. She seemed to be the only thing on his mind lately. With a small huff, Tiki turned to face him, mulling over his more serious question.

"I think the only thing we're in danger of here is the lieutenant's bad mood," she said truthfully, leaping up to sit on the windowsill. Her short legs swung back and forth as she continued, "She may not like it here, but she had to have known this was a place where you would be safe, Syaoran. Why else would she bring us here?"

"I agree," said a voice from the doorway, and Tiki looked up to find Shun, clean-shaven and grinning. He had a fresher look about him, which suggested to her that he had just enjoyed the luxury of a hot bath. "No electricity, but they have running water, at least," he answered her questioning look.

"Good to know," said Tiki.

"Have faith in ZanYi, Syaoran," Shun urged the Avatar, leaning against the doorframe. "Like Tiki said, the lieutenant may not be pleased about it, but she knew coming here was necessary for your safety. She believes we can trust the people here, so since I trust ZanYi, I also trust Master Fei and the White Lotus."

"Except for that one new guy that was ready to fight us," Tiki interjected, her tiny nose wrinkling at the thought of the new member of the White Lotus. Shun frowned while thinking of the man as well.

"Yes, well, clearly he had no idea who he was talking to."

"Wouldn't have stopped ZanYi from showing him exactly who he was dealing with."

Shun smirked in agreement.

"You got that right."

Syaoran stiffened at the taunt, since it was from a voice of one that clearly none of them thought present. Turning away from Shun in the doorway, the Avatar found ZanYi in the window, peering from the outside. She looked flushed in the face, sweat dripping from her brow. With a yelp, Tiki jumped off the windowsill in surprise and the lieutenant pulled herself up to perch in the edge, one leg tucked up to her chest, the other dangling outside.

"Are you done with your, er, running?" Syaoran asked, watching ZanYi take slow, restful breaths.

"Of course not," she scoffed, looking at Syaoran as if he was nuts, "about halfway done. I'm going to be late for dinner, though I would appreciate it if you would leave this window open. Sifu probably locked the main doors."

The look of exasperation on her face was not missed. However, she stomached that back down to look at Syaoran seriously. "I promise, you are safe here. The same may not be said of me, but it is yours, Shun's, and Tiki's health that is of the utmost importance right now. This is one of the safest places left, and I am not going to let anything happen to you guys. I give you my word."

Unsure of what to say, Syaoran merely nodded, acknowledging and taking her words to heart, probably more than he had to, too.

Tiki now smirked at Syaoran. "See? Told you!" she wasted no time in bragging. A part of her was a little put-out that Syaoran had trouble believing anything unless it came from ZanYi—she seemed to work as the ostrich horse's mouth, in his opinion. "Well then, now that Shun is wolf bat free, I'm gonna go pick out my room, and then take a nice, long bath." Sidling past Shun, the tiny airbender bounced out of sight.

Shun was shaking his head at her description of his fuzzy face. "I didn't think it was that bad," he mumbled to himself, straightening up. His eyes went to ZanYi, taking in her overexerted state. "By the way, is this normal?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow. If Master Fei was intent on running her ragged every day that they were here, how on earth was ZanYi going to fit in firebending practice with the Avatar? She wouldn't have any energy left.

The lieutenant let out a brief snort. "Depends on what you define as normal," she answered Shun, still panting a bit. "Remember: he's got me running five times that of my usual regimen. The man knows how to hold a grudge."

Syaoran eagerly nodded, tucking that information away for later. While on his stay there on the island, he definitely did not want Master Fei to stray from the cordiality that he was currently displaying towards the Avatar. If ZanYi was having a difficult time with his exercises, he shuddered to think how he would fare. "Got it," he told her.

She nodded to him and closed her eyes to breath a moment, taking the most out of her break. Master Fei would be able to know if she skipped out on some of her running, and she certainly was not going to give him the satisfaction of copping out early. "In case I do not have the chance to tell you later," ZanYi continued, looking at both of the men left in the room, "we will continue firebending training in the afternoon tomorrow, so you can rest in the morning."

As much as the idea of rest appealed to Shun, he shook his head in the negative.

"I'll use tomorrow morning to practice my own bending, then," he decided, an eager glint in his eye. "It's been a long time since I've been near the ocean, so I wouldn't want to pass up such an opportunity."

Suddenly, an ear-splitting scream resounded through the hall, breaking the peace and quiet of the evening.

"SHUUUN! HEEEELP!"

Shun did not need to be asked twice. Swiftly, he ran to the washroom, where Tiki's voice had come from. He burst through the door, his canteen at the ready as he searched the room for a threat. All he found was Tiki cowering near the sink with nothing but a towel wrapped around her tiny frame. Perplexed, Shun looked to her for an explanation.

"D-d-dragon!" the tiny airbender sputtered, pointing a shaking finger at a statue carving of a dragon's head that was mounted over the large, ornate tub across the room. Comprehension dawning on him, Shun let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

"Tiki," he explained patiently as he headed over to the statue, "the dragon isn't real. This is where the hot water comes from."

As a demonstration, the large waterbender pulled on the chain hanging from the dragon's neck. The stone dragon's mouth opened with a creak, and steaming water began to pour out of its mouth and into the tub below. As Tiki watched, her cheeks became rosy and her expression chagrined.

"Oh… ha ha. I would have figured that out… eventually," she said weakly. With a shake of his head and a good-natured chuckle, Shun left the room.

"Try not to drown in the tub, Teeks," he called over his shoulder as he shut the door behind him.

When Tiki screamed, ZanYi had cringed and Syaoran had leapt to his feet. He got out of there quickly and ran into the hall, only to find the disaster… not so disastrous. In fact, Syaoran found it rather stupid and his expression went from concerned to deadpanned quickly. He shook his head, dumbfounded, and went back into this room. "I don't mind training in the morning…"

Syaoran had started to speak, only to trail when he realized the lieutenant was gone, only a breeze left in the window, as it billowed through heavy maroon curtains. "Dang it," he muttered under his breath, ruffling his unruly hair in frustration.

There was a mild cough from behind him, and he found a member of the White Lotus standing in the hall expectantly. "Master Fei is waiting for your company at dinner," he said.

"Um, thanks," Syaoran responded uncomfortably. That seemed sufficient because the man then turned heel and strode away. The Avatar turned to Shun, uncertainty on his face. "So, I guess we go to dinner?"

"I guess so," Shun responded with a smile. He tapped on the washroom door and said, "Teeks, Syaoran and I are going to dinner. Don't take too long, or we'll finish the meal without you."

"Okay!" Tiki called back, followed by a series of splashes. What she was doing in there, Shun did not know, but he had a feeling he was better off that way.

Together, he and the Avatar made their way to the dining hall, following Master Fei's directions from earlier. Shun glimpsed the view of the mountainside courtyard before his attention was drawn to the center of the room, where a long table was decorated with platters and platters full of food. Master Fei sat at the head, the plate before him already full; he seemed to be waiting on them, just as the White Lotus member said. Shun whistled as he checked out the large support beams and the high ceiling—or was the floor just low? They had to travel down steps to get to the center of the room.

"So ZanYi grew up with all of this?" Shun said to himself as he sat down to the left of Master Fei. "I would have a hard time leaving all this behind, if it were me."

Of course, the giant waterbender guessed that there were many reasons that ZanYi felt that she had to leave. A few of them were sitting right beside him.

"Princess ZanYi seemed to have no trouble with it," Master Fei derided, seemingly putout by this despite his calm exterior. He began to cut and eat his food, seemingly satisfied that at least two of his guests had joined him. "Which is why she did it again and again, year after year."

Syaoran sat down in the seat on the other side of Shun, not quite comfortable with the idea of sitting next to the firebending master. "Year after year?" he repeated, peering curiously at Master Fei, "Did she not live here very long?"

"Not all at once, no," Master Fei answered promptly, eating between sentences and never speaking with his mouth full. "Only when the prince would go on 'deployment', thereby unable to take her along. That dreadful military would default her here, as if I were a day-care." He looked rather scornfully at his meal, and Syaoran was thankful not to be the target of such disdain. Instead, the Avatar took to eating his food, and found it to be quite possibly the most delicious dish he'd had in a great many years. Syaoran had to take active measures to use his manners and not devour it whole.

However, it seemed as though, now that he had started, Master Fei was not ready to easily drop the subject. The berating, as ZanYi had earlier put it, seemed quite the norm for the upright elder.

"I suppose if you two are companions of any sort with the princess, that you have met her distasteful brother," he mused aloud looking to the two young men. Syaoran merely nodded, trying not to encourage the words. Master Fei, however, was anyway. "Honestly, that boy makes me quite thankful that the royal bloodline is not in power. The mere thought of such an irritable, irresponsible man as the Fire Lord—hmph!"

After a self-righteous grunt, the firebending master looked to Shun and Syaoran pleasantly. "So, how did you two come to meet the princess? It surely must be significant if she has brought you here. Princess ZanYi never brings anyone here."

Syaoran was fairly certain he heard Master Fei mumble under his breath about Zaron being included in that, but the earthbender chose not to even touch that subject again.

Shun sat still through the firebending master's rantings about ZanYi's brother. No wonder she was not too enthused about returning here: her teacher was against pretty much everything she held dear. Shun began to feel a touch of pity for the lieutenant… not that she would appreciate the sentiment, he was sure. "I came across ZanYi and Syaoran by chance, actually," the giant waterbender began to explain, eager to steer the conversation into more pleasant waters, "I was traveling through a forest when I spotted a little girl drowning in a lake down below, who turned out to be Tiki. After I saved her, I became acquainted with her comrades, who were ZanYi and Syaoran. The rest you could call history."

"I'm _not little_, Shun!" protested a voice across the hall, and Shun glanced up to see Tiki heading their way, a pout aimed directly at him.

"You're not exactly big either, Teeks," Shun pointed out, smiling at the tiny airbender as she sat down across from him.

"I am _petite_!" Tiki insisted, stabbing a fork into her food quite vigorously as she glared at Shun, who merely chuckled at her. Taking note of Master Fei, Tiki's mood abruptly shifted. "So, Master Fei: do you have any interesting stories from ZanYi's childhood you can share with us?"

Shun choked on the water he was drinking. As he coughed, he sent Tiki a warning look, one she thoroughly ignored.

"It's okay, you can tell us!" Tiki urged the elder firebender. "ZanYi's not around to overhear!"

'_If she was, you would be a very dead airbender, Teeks,_' Shun thought, still coughing.

"Interesting stories, you ask?" Master Fei mused, stroking his chin gingerly. Syaoran choked on his food as well, looking to Tiki and trying to convey to her how crazy she was. The lieutenant was already irritated with everything at the moment; Tiki must have a death wish, that much was certain to Syaoran.

What frightened him even more than the question posed was the master's indulgence of it. "Well, I do believe I could name off a couple interesting tales about the young princess," Master Fei considered, his brow lifting in curious thought as his elbows rested on the long oak table, clasped under his chin.

"You really don't have to," Syaoran spoke up, trying to derail this line of questioning, despite his own curiosity on the matter.

"Come now, Avatar," Master Fei stopped him with a gentle hand. "It is very seldom we have guests here on the island, and I would like to do my best to entertain them properly."

Syaoran suppressed the groan in his throat and look to Shun for back up, hoping the waterbender would help him out. But it seemed there was a reason the man was able to even order the lieutenant around: Master Fei was unstoppable.

"Now, Tiki," he said, looking to the small airbender as he recalled her name, smiling, "What kind of stories would you like?"

"I wanna know about the first lesson you gave ZanYi in firebending," Tiki said immediately, her gray eyes sparkling happily. She had yet to meet a firebender that was as friendly as ZanYi's sifu… well, he seemed to be friendly to guests, at least. "Did she womp at it when you first began to teach her?"

"I doubt she… 'womped'," Shun did not hesitate to disagree, although Tiki's terminology did give him pause. "Considering how good she is now, she might've been a child prodigy."

"Oh hush, Shun. I'm asking Master Fei," Tiki insisted, shooting the giant waterbender a look before returning her attention to said master. "I bet all her firebending credit should go to you, isn't that right? Did you teach her how to shoot lightning too?"

Despite himself, Shun found that he was as interested in the answer to these questions as Tiki was. There was a whole other side to ZanYi that he did not know, a side of her that Master Fei was very familiar with. Shun would be lying if he said he was not curious about the childhood that made ZanYi the woman she is today. Regardless of his feeble attempts to deter this line of questioning, even Syaoran could not help but keep silent and expectant. This was certainly better than the elder spouting embarrassing stories about the lieutenant, and Syaoran wanted to know himself. To hear about his own teacher's roots—from her teacher no less—was enough to keep him from eating.

Looking at the curious gazes directed at him, Master Fei chortled. "I did not teach her how to firebend at first. Shun here was right," he told them, nodding to the waterbender briefly. "Princess ZanYi was a natural, a prodigy. Why, I haven't heard of the likes of someone with such talent so young since… well, perhaps the late Princess Azula, back during the time of Avatar Aang."

Syaoran's eyebrows rose, mystified. Everyone knew about Princess Azula, the crackpot prodigy in Fire Nation history, but to know that his teacher was on the same level as her… It certainly made him thankful that the lieutenant seemed very self-controlled. "So how did she start?" he could not help but ask, leaning his arms on the table to eagerly lean forward.

"By watching Prince Zaron fail," he answered simply—and quite proudly, Syaoran could not help but note. "I was to teach him firebending, as per their parents' decision, and the little princess would hide and watch. I caught her doing the techniques one day and took her under my tutelage after that."

"How old was she then?" Syaoran found himself asking, and inside he felt guilty for it, like he was prying for information. Which was exactly what he was doing, but knowing how upset the lieutenant would be later made him feel the guilt.

Master Fei seemed to think for a moment, having to count. "Well, I took Prince Zaron as a student when he was ten, so Princess ZanYi would have been… four years old? That sounds correct, yes."

Shun's eyebrows shot up into his hairline.

"_Four_?" Tiki exclaimed before Shun had a chance to, "holy sky bison, that's like in-between toddler and child! Wow, if any of ZanYi's enemies knew that, I think they'd think twice before crossing her!"

Shun thought of Zhao for a brief second, the memory of the unpleasant brute causing him to frown. "So ZanYi surpassed her brother once you took her as a student?" he asked to distract himself. And it worked, such a thought brought amusement to the giant waterbender's face. As protective as the sergeant major was over his sister, Shun had to wonder whether or not the man was underestimating his lieutenant sister. After all, from what Shun could guess, no one knew better than Zaron the level of ZanYi's skills.

"Yes, she did, and quite quickly as well," Master Fei doted, as if he were speaking about his own daughter. However, it was quite clear he did not harbor the same feelings towards her brother. "Princess ZanYi, to this day, has been my best and also most challenging student."

Syaoran quirked a brow. "How's that work?" he asked, finding the description to be contradictory. But Master Fei had an explanation ready.

"Princess ZanYi was able to pick up the techniques in record time with record precision, but it also meant that she excelled far faster than she knew what to do with."

A dark cloud passed over the elder's face, and Syaoran had no inclination as to what that could lead to. It was a battle between self-preservation and curiosity within him; the latter won out. Delicately, Syaoran queried, "What happened?"

Eating a few more bites of dinner, the master chewed on his meal and his words for just a moment. "She tried to generate lightning before her body was ready to handle it."

Syaoran completely froze after that. All of ZanYi's warnings about lightning, its power, and her denial to teach him suddenly had new meaning. He said nothing, but the Avatar knew his expression begged for the man to continue.

And so Master Fei did. "The one thing her brother has done right by the princess is having found her right after she attempted. Nearly killed herself. She was only a child when that happened." The elder firebender set down his cutlery to gesture to his collarbone. "To this day, she has a small scar right here that never went away, one of few scars she sustained on the island."

"…Oh," Shun muttered, realization dawning on his features. "So that's why…"

"What?" Tiki asked curiously. For a moment, Shun hesitated, wondering if he should divulge this information. After considering it, the giant waterbender shrugged. Why not? It wasn't as if it was a secret.

"I've tried to heal that scar," Shun answered, the memory making him frown again, "but it wouldn't budge. Now I know why: it's an old scar. I'd need pure water to heal scarred tissue that healed naturally years ago."

"Wow, an injury that wouldn't heal for you, Shun? That's gotta be a first," Tiki teased, though she did look awed at the prospect. "Your healing's usually excellent."

"I couldn't heal something like that with normal water," Shun said again, "I would need water blessed by spirits—and that isn't exactly easy to come by…" Shun fell silent, his mind caught up in the logistics of his water healing.

Rolling her eyes indulgently, Tiki returned her gaze to Master Fei. "I'm surprised she didn't quit using lightning after that incident. Stuff like that scars people emotionally too," the tiny airbender pointed out. "How long did you make her wait before you allowed her to try the technique again?"

The elder snorted. "I did not allow her to attempt the technique the first time," Master Fei pointed out first, making that clear in his adamant voice. "It was because she overlooked one of my older, advanced students learning it that she even got the notion in her head."

Syaoran huffed. There was something that quite plainly had not changed about the lieutenant since her childhood: her stubbornness. However, Master Fei seemed not to find it very amusing and he fixed the Avatar a rather glaring look. Turning away from Syaoran, Master Fei looked back to Tiki. "But after that, I did not want her to attempt it at all until she was older. But as soon as she was healed minimally…"

"She tried again?" Syaoran finished, seeing as the firebending master seemed to be too exasperated to continue. Rubbing his temple mildly, Master Fei nodded.

"She did. And this time she got it right." Master Fei shook his head, as if she still could not believe it. "The princess was only a child, but one like I had never seen before. She was not even frightened. If anything, Princess ZanYi was only more determined to do it again after her accident."

Syaoran could not recall any child he had ever met that had picked up bending with what seemed with such ease. But the story did not surprise him, for if anyone could do any of that, ZanYi was the one. It was exactly how she was now; it was what made her a lieutenant that many admired and followed.

"That sounds like the lieutenant," he mused aloud. Syaoran received another sharp look.

"Yes, it seems the _princess_ has not changed her foolhardy ways," Master Fei agreed, but the slight correction was made very clear. Syaoran no longer wondered why those of the White Lotus almost slipped up earlier.

The correction did not escape Shun's notice either.

"Tell me something, Master Fei," he began, choosing his words carefully before he spoke them, "you seem… unhappy with ZanYi's career choice, despite the fact that she's working to free benders from the tyranny of non-benders. I was just curious as to why."

Tiki tensed up, her fork halfway to her mouth. Usually it was her that was asking the impertinent questions, but even she thought Shun should know better. Master Fei had already proven himself as a force not to be reckoned with, so Tiki could not fathom why Shun would risk losing the good graces of the elder firebender to ask something that was obviously a sensitive topic. Syaoran could not fathom either, and he was not sure what was going to happen next. He watched as Master Fei grew very still, and Syaoran only hoped that the man had the same or more self-control as the lieutenant.

"Why, you ask?" Master Fei repeated coolly, looking at the waterbender with scrutiny. "I could list several reasons for you. For starters, Princess ZanYi should not be subject to anyone less than herself, nor put in a position to be comparable to anyone less than her skill level." Syaoran could only think of Zhao, and he wondered if the master had found out about the man. "Or how about she is capable of so much more than leading a small group. Her ancestors and predecessors led entire nations, and Princess ZanYi is more than capable of making the same impact."

The firebender slowly rose to his feet, just as his temper did within him. Syaoran looked quickly between the two and felt as if he was about to witness something very ugly. Master Fei looked darkly at Shun, indignant even. "And how about she has given enough to those people? They have taken enough from her in her life time that she owes them nothing!"

"Sifu."

Syaoran wasn't sure whether to be worried or overjoyed at the lieutenant's voice. He turned to see her flushed, exhausted, but nonetheless still standing. However, while the woman was naturally more on the stoic side, she seemed deathly still, quiet even. Her voice had not even been raised. Just soft.

And yet, it was enough to make her master divert his gaze to her from Shun, and the two just stared at each other in silence for a moment. Then ZanYi said in a stilled tone, "That's enough."

Master Fei seemed to weigh her request and took a deep breath. "It has been a pleasure to meet you all this evening," he eventually said, looking to his other two guests with a bowed head. "I am going to retire for the evening. Please, enjoy the rest of your meal."

He left the table and walked towards ZanYi and paused at her side, glancing down at her. "Sunrise?"

"Yes, Sifu."

Finding this satisfactory, Master Fei nodded, thus moving past her up the steps and out of their sight. This left ZanYi standing among her compatriots quietly. Ignore the awkward air, she walked over to the table and sat herself next to Tiki, beginning to eat her meal quietly. Tiki eyed her, expecting the woman to explode at Shun any moment. When the explosion did not come, the tiny airbender pouted. She felt cheated: why was it that anytime she did or said anything out of turn, she was immediately yelled at, but when _Shun_ did it…

"Shun—!" Tiki began, intending to give the giant waterbender the scolding that no one else seemed to want to give him. But he held up a hand to silence her, his blue eyes on ZanYi.

"I apologize for angering your master," he said, his regret sincere, "I let the curiosity get the best of me, and I said some things I shouldn't have."

"No, you shouldn't have!" Tiki butted in, pushing her plate away. "I'm so disappointed in you that I can't even eat anymore."

A slight cough sounded, and a White Lotus member revealed himself. "Dessert is served," the young woman announced as she set down a few platters of delicacies. At the sight of the sweets, Tiki began to drool.

"…Maybe I'll just have a pastry," she amended, pouncing on the nearest tray once it was within grabbing distance.

ZanYi didn't look at Shun, just sat there and started at her food. Syaoran almost feared that she was going to be giving him the silent treatment again, she was so upset. But one glance at her told him that just might not be the case this time. It wasn't an underlying fury that brought fire and passion to her eyes. ZanYi was just solemn, quiet. It was not quite like anything he had seen before, like an impassive wall.

"Forget about it, Shun," she said stiffly, focusing on the food on her plate. "Sifu was out of line." Extremely out of line. ZanYi was a grateful that she had finished her running when she had and skipped the shower for the time being. She did not want to think about what else he could have said or probably already said. "I apologize if he said anything harsh to you all in my absence."

Syaoran shook his head slowly, finally picking up his fork to eat again. "Master Fei was fine, Lieutenant. We just got a little carried away with the questions," he admitted guiltily. He expected a sharp look from ZanYi and perhaps a scolding to the three of them. However, she seemed thoroughly distracted and did neither.

Instead, ZanYi just continued to eat.

Tiki shifted guiltily next to the lieutenant. It had been her idea to start asking questions, after all. She swallowed the bit of cream puff she had in her mouth to say as much, but was distracted when Shun unfolded his large frame to stand up.

"I'm turning in for the night," he announced, striding away from the table and up the stairs. He had almost reached the top when he paused and turned to address Tiki. "How do you feel about a little sparring match tomorrow, Teeks?"

Tiki's eyes widened, staring at Shun as if he had just transformed into a polar bear dog. "With… with you?" she wanted to verify. A crooked grin hitched itself onto Shun's face.

"The one and only," he assured her, "unless… you're not up to it?"

Shun's grin grew as he saw Tiki bristle visibly at the challenge.

"You, sir," she declared, pointing a challenging finger at him, "have got yourself a sparring match."

"I'll meet you on the shore at dawn," Shun promised before heading down the hall, out of sight.

Tiki jumped to her feet after he was gone. "Ah, this is gonna be awesome! It's been forever since I've had a sparring match!" she cheered, jumping up and down. The sudden joy she felt left her just as quickly, and her mouth came open with a pop. "At dawn?! Holy sky bison, I gotta get to bed now or I won't be at the top of my game! G'night, you two!" After a hasty finish of her cream puff, the tiny airbender waved good night to the other two and sped off after Shun, determined to get to dreamland before him.

Left alone with the silent lieutenant, Syaoran shifted a bit uncomfortably. There were less people sharing the air, yet it was just as tense as it had been before. He looked across the table to face ZanYi, who remained unperturbed by the departures, just quiet as she ate. It was unclear to him as to what he should do, whether it would be to follow his comrades and leave her there to dine alone, or to stick it out.

Syaoran looked at her face in the light and shadows of the dancing torchlight. Considering the fiery words of her master throughout the evening, he paused to consider that perhaps the lieutenant had spent a great deal of time alone before.

"So… um…" he tried to start, racking his brain for anything to say, "enjoy your run?"

ZanYi paused a moment and Syaoran almost thought he saw a ghost of her smirk. "It was a lot of running," she put simply, "I don't think anyone prefers to run that much."

While it wasn't much, Syaoran was going to take what he could and run with it. "No, I guess not," he agreed, looking down at his now empty plate. "Um, so, Prin—" By the time he managed to stop himself, ZanYi's golden gaze did turn sharp as she finally looked at him. Syaoran shifted very uncomfortably in his seat. "Ack! I'm so sorry!" he quickly apologized, his hands up in surrender before she could attack. "It's just—!"

"Syaoran," she stopped him, taking a deep breath as she weighed him a good stare. Almost wincing, Syaoran listened avidly, as if fire and brimstone were about to rain upon him. "If listening to Sifu is going to trip you up like that, just call me by my name like the other two." That was not what he was expecting, and Syaoran looked fairly dumbfounded as ZanYi returned to her meal. It seemed as though his near-fatal blunder had just given him an opportunity. However, before he could say anything, the lieutenant stood up, finished. "I'm going to bed," she announced.

ZanYi started to walk towards the stairs, and Syaoran quickly rose to follow after her, ready to go as well. "Sounds like a good idea," he agreed, falling in step next to her. The rest of the walk back to their rooms was in silence, as Syaoran was still uncertain of what to say. As they came upon the bedroom doors, he looked to ZanYi, finding her impassive wall fading a bit. Through green eyes, he could see how she was focusing all she could on keeping it up. But it was not anger that held it, like most other times.

Just as she reached for the knob of her door, Syaoran stopped her. "Um, are you okay… ZanYi?" he dared, testing the name on his lips. He liked the sound of it. When she stopped to look at him, Syaoran could only watch as she forced a smirk, unyielding to her emotions.

"Just worry about yourself, Syaoran," she advised him. ZanYi gave him a little nod, then slipped into her room and shut the door behind her. Syaoran gazed at the door a little longer, feeling like something was off, but he could do nothing more. With a small shake of his head, Syaoran went across the hall and into his own room to retire from their long evening, hoping things got better for the team from here on out, even if that was a lot to ask for.

* * *

**A/N from DJ: BLAH! This thing took me forever to go through and edit! I forgot to warn you guys last week: this week was going to be a long one xP Alas, if you're down here, you survived! So is Team Avatar... for now. They've finally managed to make it to safety, though they may have just landed themselves in the den of the dragon! Only way to find out is to stick with us! Now, shall we go on to the acknowledgement?**

**Japaneserockergirl: You're going to be waiting to find out more about Shun's past! In the meantime you're welcome to speculate all you want though! You'll find out if you're right... eventually! xD As for ZanYi, we started pulling back those layers as to why she is the way she is this week. This team-so complex! xP**

**That's actually it for this week, but we know you guys are out there reading! We do see the reader counts! So to everyone who is supporting us in silence: thank-you as well! See you guys next Friday-it will be a doozy!**


	17. The Misunderstanding

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire**

**By Twins of the Pen**

**Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

* * *

Surprisingly, ZanYi found it easy to rise the next day. Perhaps it was the habit of her surroundings, the comfort of a bed she had been attuned to at one point. It was still heavily dark when she dragged herself out of bed, the sun still hiding from the cool of the setting moon. She wanted time to herself before training with Master Fei.

Dressing quickly, she walked over to her window and slid it open, letting the sound of chirping crickets and the scent of the ocean breeze flow over her. In some ways it was comforting, and in others it was haunting. ZanYi swung her legs over her windowsill and dropped down to the ground below. Knowing she had some time before Master Fei would meet her up on the training grounds, ZanYi took the opportunity of silence and made her way down to the black-sand beach, warming up to a jog. As she started a series of warm-ups on the sand, the heat began to rise in her. Eventually she stripped down to her compression shorts and sports bra, staring out at the waters with a bit of envy. Seeing as no one was around, she waded out into the water. As she drew deeper into the dark waves, it was cool, but soon became warm as she heated everything around her. Vapors rose from the water and she felt comforted.

That comfort was short-lived, however, seeing as how a giant waterbender abruptly popped up in front of ZanYi, emerging from the suddenly warm water.

"Whoa!" Shun exclaimed, splashing backwards at the lieutenant's unannounced appearance. He pushed the soaked hair from his face as a surprised grin alighted his face. "Good morning, ZanYi," he greeted her, "I see I'm not the only one who decided to go for an early swim."

The giant waterbender leaned back to backstroke for a distance, feeling the temperature drop the further he swam from ZanYi. He guessed she must have been warming the water. Personally, Shun preferred the water cooler; warm water was nice, but only when he was bathing.

The vapor had exponentially increased, as Shun's sudden appearance had made ZanYi rip her hands out of the water, flaming in a ready offense. "Shun," she almost growled, as if warning him. Certainly, she had not appreciated the surprise. ZanYi extinguished her hands as she let them slide back into the water, steam rising around her, the heat warming the tense muscles in her body. Moving a bit farther, the lieutenant went deeper, trying to submerge herself to almost her shoulders, letting the warmth hit her back. She looked at him rather curiously, torn between amusement and incredulity. "I have never seen anyone in their right mind get up this early of their own volition," she remarked.

Shun sat up and grinned.

"Then I guess we're two people of the same mind, Lieutenant," he teased with a wink. As he stood up, the water that was nearly to ZanYi's shoulders brushed high against his waist. The giant waterbender turned to look out at the moon hovering just over the edge of the horizon, the sky beginning to lighten. Dawn was approaching.

"I wanted to warm-up before Tiki got here," Shun explained, his eyes on the descending moon. "Take advantage of the lunar boost, you know. I plan to go all out today, because I know Tiki won't forgive me if I go easy on her." Without seeming to think about it, Shun began swirling his hand through the water in a clockwise motion. At his touch, the water churned, swirling to create his own personal whirlpool. It grew in size with Shun's guidance, pulling in the water around it. But before it could get too powerful, Shun ceased the circular motion of his hand, and the whirlpool died, just like that. "Did you come out here to warm-up too?" Shun guessed, turning a quirked eyebrow onto ZanYi. "I have to admit, I never pegged you as much of a swimmer."

"What else are you supposed to do on an island?" she jeered, eyes glancing briefly to where Shun had just done his little cyclone. Looking back to him, ZanYi lifted a challenging brow, "You're not the only one who can mess with water."

She smirked a little and allowed more of her heat to permeate around her. The water grew warmer and warmer and the air around them grew thicker and thicker, evaporating to the point that not much could be seen in any direction, or barely each other. "Just because I'm a firebender doesn't mean I can't take the water," she prodded and there was a bit of light and a familiar crackling as she lifted a hand out of the water. "I have my own advantages here, thank-you."

"I see that," Shun said, from directly behind ZanYi. As the steam billowed into the air around them, he had taken the opportunity to slip into the depths once more. Shun was a big guy, but that did not negatively affect his swimming speed. In fact, in spite of his size, he was a swift swimmer. He had re-emerged behind the lieutenant, just as she was telling him she could handle herself in the water. Powerful arms wrapped around her, pulling her back into Shun's chest.

"At the same time, though," he whispered into her ear, "you should never underestimate a waterbender in his natural element."

Shun knew ZanYi might shock him—whether out of surprise or on principle, he did not know yet—but that did not stop the teasing smirk from forming on his lips. He rarely ever got a chance to play around like this with the lieutenant, so he was going to take advantage of it, even if she ended up injuring him.

Her instincts yelled at her to strike, the contact not what she had expected. But as her hand swiftly went to the arms around her to electrocute, ZanYi knew this was Shun. And shocking a waterbender in water did not sound like a good idea, especially to a comrade. So instead, her hands reflexively gripped Shun's arms, the electricity stopping just before the physical contact. ZanYi took a deep breath and let it go slowly, releasing the tension that had arisen from Shun's surprising and bold move.

"And you shouldn't overestimate the self-control a firebender has," ZanYi hissed back, turning her head so that it was close to Shun's leaning face, her eyes flashing with the danger that had been avoided. The last thing she wanted to do was legitimately harm one of the members of Team Avatar—especially the only healer they've got in their party. "Be careful, Shun. I don't want to hurt you."

Shun raised his eyebrows. Indeed, the giant waterbender was very thankful for ZanYi's control right then. He had been almost certain she would have shocked him silly… and yet she did not. She had been about to, though: Shun could see that fact in the way her eyes burned with her serious tone.

He also found himself thinking, quite abruptly, that ZanYi's eyes were the most beautiful when they were alive the way they were at that moment.

Shun opened his mouth to say something—what, he did not know—but before he could get any words out, a loud clearing of the throat sounded behind them, back on the shore. Turning his head and squinting through the dissipating steam, his blue eyes found Tiki waiting there, her expression torn between amusement and disapproval.

"I'm here for that sparring match you promised me…" One of Tiki's delicate eyebrows raised significantly, "or are you a little caught up right now…?"

Something in Tiki's tone made Shun blush. He released the lieutenant and immediately swam towards shore, where Tiki waited. For some reason, Shun found it hard to look at the tiny airbender.

"You're early," he finally commented.

"I'm right on time," Tiki corrected him, jabbing a thumb at the horizon. The moon had disappeared, to be replaced with the edge of the sun peeking out over the ocean. Shun nodded his head, consenting to Tiki's point.

"So you are."

"Shun, what are you doing?" Tiki lowered her voice to ask, placing a small hand on Shun's forearm as he reached down to retrieve his discarded jeans. "You know how Syaoran feels about ZanYi—!"

"Relax, Teeks, nothing happened," Shun brushed her off, turning his back on her as he pulled on his jeans over his boxers, his face still burning for reasons unknown. "We—I was just playing around, that's all."

When he turned around, Shun found that Tiki's gaze was unusually shrewd as she scrutinized his expression. Vaguely, the giant waterbender felt guilty, as if he had been caught doing something he knew very well he should not be doing and was now lying about it… which was crazy. He and ZanYi were just horsing around. So what if he had been hugging her? That meant nothing… right?

"Are we going to spar or what?" Shun asked, eager to change the subject. Tiki's hardened stare lessened at that, giving him one last doubting glance before she nodded.

"All right. How do you want to do this?"

"We'll spar on the beach here. That way we're on equal ground, figuratively speaking: I can't fly and you can't swim, so this will make us even."

"Are there rules, or can we just fight until we're too tired to move?"

"The latter, if you want."

"Oh, I want."

"Fair enough: we spar until one of us gives, or until we both drop. Sound good?"

As an answer, Tiki flipped back and positioned her hands at the ready. "You have no idea what you're in for, Shun," she said, her feline smirk appearing. Shun grinned as well and sunk low, his hands aimed at the waves beside them.

"Looks like I'm about to find out."

"Hold on," came the lieutenant's voice. She was wading quickly through the water to walk back up onto the beach—she did not want to be in the water if Shun was going to start bending it. ZanYi walked up onto the obsidian grains, a bit chilled now that she'd left her warm waters. But the sun was beginning to rise, so she knew that she was going to be warmed up quite soon, in more ways than one. Reaching down to grab her discarded cargos, ZanYi was surprised to find that her compression shorts had risen a little, giving way to a snaking mark on her right thigh. Upon this realization, she quickly dressed, hiding it from sight.

When ZanYi looked up again, she found Syaoran bounding down from the home. "Morning," he greeted everybody. He quickly eyed Shun and Tiki's stances and shuffled past them to his teacher.

"What are you doing up, Syaoran?" she asked him, cocking her head a little to peer at him. Syaoran stumbled a little, but after catching himself, he then ruffled the back of his head with a hesitant hand. "Well, I figured since everyone else was getting up early, that, uh, maybe I should too. Can I join you for training, ZanYi?" he asked, finding the name still sounded different rolling off of his tongue. It was a change of a pace, certainly.

ZanYi was bemused but snickered, smirking. "Fine, but you're going to be put through your paces." She looked at Tiki and Shun, then to the volcano. "We start running; it's not going to be safe down here in a minute." Without any other words of advice, the lieutenant took off jogging up the ragged hill, and with a triumphant expression on his face, Syaoran followed suit.

Shun smirked at the pleased look Syaoran wore as he took off after the lieutenant. He had noted that the Avatar had started using ZanYi's name—an interesting development. Perhaps there was hope for Syaoran after all.

A strong gust nearly knocked the distracted waterbender off-balance, and he turned to frown at Tiki's mischievous kitty grin. "You should pay attention or you're gonna be knocked on your butt," she warned, beckoning for the giant waterbender to come at her.

"I'd be more worried about myself, if I were in your position," Shun shot back, funneling a large cyclone of water out of the ocean and onto the spot where Tiki stood.

Make that where Tiki _was_ standing—she had disappeared briefly. Shun stopped the funnelling long enough to look up, and was glad he did. He jumped back just in time to avoid Tiki's high kick. She whirled and aimed another kick, one that Shun had to hastily duck. He formed a watery shackle around Tiki's ankle and flung her over his head, but instead of slamming into the ground like Shun planned, Tiki landed on her hands, blowing a gust of air through her mouth.

Shun's concentration broke, just as Tiki intended, and the watery shackle splashed into the sand. Tiki flipped over onto her feet and blasted another air attack, one Shun blocked with an ice wall.

And on and on it went. Shun's raw power was a force to be reckoned with, but Tiki's speed made up for it, making them equally matched. Two hours later, they were lying on the beach, thoroughly worn-out. Tiki was soaked to the bone, while Shun looked like he had just finished skydiving. The latter turned to give his sparring partner a grin.

"You sure gave me a run for my money," he told her in between deep breaths.

"I wish we had made a bet," Tiki panted, grimacing at the hindsight. With a drawn-out sigh, the tiny airbender sat up, raising a hand as she squinted against the sun. And, wondering aloud, she mused, "How do you think Syaoran's faring with his training with the lieutenant and Master Dragon?"

* * *

"Avatar Syaoran! Again!"

Said young man lifted his head from between his knees, panting heavily as his jade eyes looked to Master Fei. This was insane. Why had he decided to do this? Why would he put himself through this? Syaoran could have slept in, had an easy morning, be perfectly rested for training with ZanYi in the afternoon. But no—he'd thought he wanted to spend more time with the lieutenant, to keep the momentum from the night before.

It was a small victory, calling her by her first name. Still, considering how often she shut him out, Syaoran had figured every little bit could help him.

Joining her training with Master Fei, however, could easily be hurting his chances.

"Are you weak _and_ deaf?" the elder firebender chastised, crossing his arms within his robes, still managing to look dignified despite harsh words. "We can't move on from the lesson until you can successfully pass the warm-up. Now, both of you: again!"

From next to him, the earthbender felt a rough hand stand him back up tall. "C'mon, Syaoran. Get with it," ZanYi chided, taking a step or two back from him. Beads of sweat traveled from her brow—it was becoming just as warm as she thought. "You keep this up, and we'll be exhausted before we even get to the lesson. You can do forms by now."

"Yeah, but not this well!" Syaoran hissed back. "It's like he's expecting perfection or something!"

"I am," Master Fei qualified quite huffily, "and so far you are failing. Honestly, Princess, have you taught this boy anything at all?"

This made the lieutenant scowl at her teacher. "Give it a rest, Sifu," she snapped at the old man, looking cross, "and give us a minute."

Ignoring the mirrored expression her teacher was wearing, ZanYi pulled Syaoran aside for a minute, gruff. They were on a higher point of the island, one of the ridges around the volcano that had been flattened out, fashioned into a sort of training grounds. Despite the elevation, the earthbender could still smell the ocean salt in the air, and all around, he could see the waters span out, vast and wide. As she tugged him to the side, near a short stone wall, he could look down over the beach, watch as irregular movements in the water battled against strong gusts of wind—surely Shun and Tiki.

"Syaoran!"

At the terse voice directed at him, the earthbender turned his attention back to ZanYi, her serious eyes only on him. He would've flushed at the thought, but it didn't help that it wasn't in the way he would have preferred.

"What's going on with you?" she asked him directly, hands on her sides as she panted a little. "You know these forms."

"Not as well as he wants me to!" Syaoran groaned, frustrated. As if he didn't already think that ZanYi's standards were too high; her teacher's were even higher for him. How was he supposed to compete on that kind of level, especially when moving alongside a firebending prodigy? It was dismaying and discouraging.

The lieutenant stood before him, in contemplative and measured silence, trying to figure out how to best approach this situation. It was after a short, but meaningful seconds that she demanded, "Gather fire in your hand."

"Wait, what?"

"Just do it."

Uncomprehending, but eager to please, Syaoran did so, holding out his palm between them. The small burst of fire he concocted flickered in his open hand, dancing in the morning sunrays. Lifting his gaze up to ZanYi, he hesitantly asked, "Okay. Now what?"

"Just feel it," the lieutenant answered, watching the fire herself. "What do you feel?"

Syaoran found the request odd, but considering ZanYi was asking, because she was his teacher and the woman he was harboring a grade school crush on, he listened. Averting his eyes to his fire, he focused, tried to feel it, to observe it.

"It's warm," he started, "and slow, almost like it's… hesitant."

There was a short snort from ZanYi, but she made no derisive remarks to go with it. "Your fire is a reflection of yourself. It's feeding off of how you feel towards firebending, so it knows your effort, but it's controlled, slow because you're not willing to let it free."

Soon the fire was snatched from his hand by ZanYi's. After dissipating it, crumbling it like a paper ball into nothing but smoke, the lieutenant lit a similar sample of fire in her own hand, sliding it into Syaoran's open palm. "What do you feel about this one?"

Syaoran took his time answering, feeling the vast difference of the flames dancing energetically in his hand now. It was stark and it was revealing. "It's… just like you, ZanYi," he slowly responded, a small quirk coming to the corner of his mouth. "It's pulsing and hot, always moving, yet completely contained in one place." It was like it had a heartbeat, proud and strong as the look he saw in ZanYi's eyes when she led her unit.

The look that she had in her amber eyes at that exact moment.

"Good," she complimented him, satisfied with the analysis, "now let your fire loose, Syaoran. When we go through our forms this time, put more confidence in your bending, and if you ever get lost or mess up, just look for that feeling. I'll be right next to you, and now you know my flames. Show it." ZanYi clapped him on the shoulder and started back towards the expansive training area, the ground firm beneath her feet. "Sifu, we're ready to continue," she called out to the elderly master, sitting carefree under a pavilion on the other side.

Master Fei rose up to his feet and moved back down to the training ground, a brow gently lifted. "Are you certain? Because if not, you're welcome to waste more of my time," he scolded his pupil and hers. It caused the lieutenant to roll her eyes in aggravation.

"Yes, I'm sure," ZanYi retorted.

She glanced back, finding Syaoran in the exact same spot by the overlook. He had a look of mystery on his usual blatant features, but after a deep, cleansing breath, the Avatar moved to stand beside ZanYi, trying to be as confident as he could. "Yes, we're ready, Master Fei," he agreed, even while his insides were screaming that he wasn't. But he had faith in ZanYi, faith in what she was teaching him. If she thought he could do this, then he could do this.

At the old man's demand, the two moved to the beginning poses, and on his mark, they began again. These forms were advanced; they were quick and swift. And at first, Syaoran found himself lagging again, unsure of whether he could do this…

But there it was right next to him: ZanYi's bold and vibrant fire. He could feel the heat, feel the passion rolling from it, the determined heartbeat. This time, Syaoran let himself get carried away in it, to be swept away under its might. His moves became sharper, stronger, his own fire building inside, erupting dangerously, but controlled. It was just as the lieutenant had taught him. All he'd really had to do was give himself over to it.

And soon they were moving in synchronization, one fire, one heartbeat. Surely Syaoran still had missteps, mistakes. But he just kept on going to the finish, determined to at least see it through.

When it came to the end, ZanYi was hardly panting, where as the Avatar next to her was taking deep lungfuls of air just to keep standing. It may be movements he knew pretty well by now, but exerting himself like that was taxing… yet, greatly gratifying. With satisfaction on his face, Syaoran looked to the lieutenant, finding her smirking at him with a slight nod. That was a sign he'd done something right, and that meant so much to him.

Cautiously, the earthbender turned to look at Master Fei, to try and read his face. It was much more blatant. The mistakes he'd made were obvious to the elder, and that showed on his face. But there was also a sense of contentment there, as if Syaoran had done well enough.

"Very well," Master Fei concluded, and Syaoran almost smiled. However, that, and any sense of accomplishment he had were halted when the elder finished, "Now: let's begin the real training."

* * *

"Never. Again."

Those were the words that came out as Syaoran tread down the volcano's hillside, plopping down onto the sand next to Tiki and Shun, panting heavily and his brow dripping with sweat. He was cut, burned, and apparently thoroughly exhausted. "I… cannot believe… that she considers that normal…" he panted. Syaoran fell back onto the ground, his chest heaving.

ZanYi surely had not been kidding when she'd warned him. It was grueling, rough, and insane. And it was even worse that, in the end, he had been excused from the practice. The lieutenant had had mercy on him, but she was still at it with Master Fei. Syaoran would have tried to keep going, but he was in no state to at the rate and velocity they were going at.

"ZanYi may be a prodigy, but she was trained by an malicious spirit," he breathed. It was with much effort that he turned his head to look over towards Shun. "I know you're exhausted, but any chance you could patch me up?" Syaoran asked Shun, almost pleading. The idea of trying to wash off with all of the cuts and burns sounded horrible at that moment.

Shun chuckled under his breath.

"Sure, but I warn you, your cuts are gonna sting," he said, sitting up and beckoning a stream of water from the ocean to him. Syaoran yelped at first as Shun set to work on his wounds and it made him sit up quite fast. It certainly did sting, though the Avatar could not tell whether it was from the nature of the wounds or the ocean water. As the waterbender weaved the water around Syaoran's injuries, Tiki sat up with some difficulty.

"So when did you start calling ZanYi by her first name?" the tiny airbender asked, leaning back on her hands and peering curiously over at the Avatar. The last time Tiki checked, it was like saying ZanYi's name was taboo with Syaoran, but now he was using it like it was nothing. What changed between today and last night?

In response, the Avatar made a point to keep his gaze away from Tiki—and from Shun, for that matter. "Well…" he tried to say, a bit flushed at the question. After all, it was still a bit of an awkward scenario to retell. "She, um, told me to use it after I almost called her 'Princess'…" Quick to his own defense, the earthbender looked between Tiki and Shun swiftly. "It was because Master Fei kept saying it all during dinner!" Syaoran tried to justify, feeling like a guilty party. "I didn't mean to do it!"

Tiki giggled.

"And she didn't blast you for it? She must be starting to like you," she teased. Shun turned to give her a warning look; the last thing he wanted was Tiki getting Syaoran's hopes up. But when Tiki gave him a look right back, the giant waterbender decided it was probably best if he minded his own business.

"It's perfectly understandable," he came to Syaoran's defense, "Master Fei insists on calling ZanYi 'Princess', so it would be natural for you to slip. It was probably about time for you to start using ZanYi's name: you were the only one who didn't."

"Kind of like you were using her title as a pet name," Tiki joked, her grin wide.

Shun was not exactly sure why, but he began to get irritated with Tiki. Lots of other people referred to ZanYi as 'the lieutenant', so why would it be considered a pet name? It was a title, one ZanYi preferred to be addressed as. There was nothing especially endearing about Syaoran calling ZanYi by her proper title.

He nearly said as much, but again, his irritation made no sense. So Shun kept it to himself, frowning as he worked on Syaoran's cuts, bruises and burns.

Syaoran didn't notice though, completely focused on keeping the red out of his face. He wasn't doing a very good job, but the earthbender was certainly trying. "It wasn't a pet name. I was just being respectful…" he muttered as his defense. But he couldn't say that he wasn't happy to finally feel like it was okay to use the lieutenant's name.

However, Tiki was still right: it was odd that he hadn't been blasted away by ZanYi for the slip. Syaoran had thought it strange then, and he still thought it strange now. "I think something else was wrong and that's why she didn't roast me," he mused in concentration, thinking about it, "and I mean aside from her being her usual angry self. Something just wasn't normal about it…"

She hadn't turned him into a crispy critter, which was a surprise in itself since they all knew how much she hated being called 'Princess'. But ZanYi had been so tight-lipped, and not like in the way when she was trying to control herself. Almost like she didn't want to say anything at all.

"I guess I'm just happy she didn't try to kill me over it. I would have been a sitting duck."

Tiki's nose crinkled as she frowned. "She seemed really bothered by the way Master Fei was talking about her," the tiny airbender noted. "I wonder what he meant when he said the military had taken enough from her life?"

"Don't ask those questions, Teeks," Shun immediately chided, finishing Syaoran's healing to give the tiny airbender a grave look. "You and I both know that bad things have happened to good people through the course of this war. No one wants to relive things like that."

Tiki lowered her eyes. "Sorry," she apologized humbly. Shun was right. Being nosy about something that had nothing to do with her would hurt ZanYi, and that was worse than any kind of wrath Tiki could have faced from the lieutenant.

There were soft footsteps as the sand shifted, and then a voice accompanied it. "What's she sorry about now? Do I even want to know?" ZanYi asked, coming over to join the trio. Syaoran turned to look at her, and found her in a better state than he had been in, but worse off than he'd ever seen her from a practice match. He was not going to include the shrapnel incident in his review.

Syaoran had to note mentally that the flush to her face from the workout did make her even more attractive. She seemed very pleased with herself, despite the burns and sweat, however. Once he managed to snap out of his reverie, Syaoran finally answered, "You really don't want to know this time."

"Fair," she accepted, content since it was concerning Tiki. "You think you're going to be good to go for training after lunch?"

Syaoran honestly felt like it was going to be difficult to move the rest of the day, considering his muscles felt like they would snap in two if he tried to move again. "Um, yeah, I'll be fine," he answered instead, not wanting to skip the firebending training, mostly since it would be more time with ZanYi.

Scoffing, the lieutenant crossed her arms and smirked. "Somehow I doubt that. Just let me know later." Looking to the other two, she quirked a brow, asking, "Enjoy your spar?"

"Tiki's tougher than she looks," Shun revealed, aiming a grin at the tiny airbender. Tiki looked smug at this praise.

"It's always the quiet ones, they say," she said, wringing the excess water from her hair. Shun snorted.

"You're small, Teeks, not quiet," he shut her down. Before Tiki could come up with a retort, Shun patted the sand next to him. "Take a seat, Lieutenant. You are in desperate need of a patch job."

"What's training with Master Fei like?" Tiki could not help but ask, looking between ZanYi and Syaoran. Based on the injuries both of them were sporting, Tiki assumed it was no picnic.

ZanYi eyed the spot next to Shun warily for a second, considering the events of the morning as she did so. However, she did trust his healing abilities foremost, so she conceded to taking the seat on the sand before looking over at Tiki. "If you were a firebender, I'd tell you to give it a try and find out," she stated.

Syaoran shivered. "I wouldn't wish it on anyone," he muttered, as if training with Master Fei was a sort of war torture. ZanYi seemed to be amused to some degree about this.

"I told you it would put you through your paces."

He nodded, agreeing now that he knew better. None of the other mornings would he attempt to join ZanYi for training with the elder. "Certainly made me thankful to have you as a teacher instead," Syaoran admitted, and then he froze, realizing he'd voiced that aloud. One curious eye over at ZanYi found her looking at him oddly, but she turned away, fine.

"Sifu is very strict, and does not hesitate to push you to your limits," ZanYi told Tiki bluntly. "And I do not mean what you think your limits are. He will push you to the limits you did not know you had. He works you hard but the payoff is higher."

"I guess the saying is true: no pain, no gain," Shun mumbled, running water over ZanYi's battle scars, his hands moving through the liquid to smooth away the burns. He leaned closer to ZanYi to reach a burn on the other side of her body and could smell the smoky perfume she always exuded. Tiki cleared her throat quite loudly, and Shun turned to give her an irate eye.

'_I'm not doing anything wrong…_' Shun's mind grumbled, but he leaned away anyway, that strange guilty feeling returning. This was ridiculous.

"How is that different from how you teach, ZanYi?" Tiki asked, now that Shun had backed away a reasonable distance—reasonable enough for the moment, in any case, since he was still healing ZanYi's wounds. "Don't you always make sure Syaoran performs to the best of his ability before you let him rest?"

Frankly, from what they were describing, Tiki could not discern any difference between the two teaching styles. Master Fei's technique must have rubbed off on ZanYi in some way.

"Of course, I do," ZanYi agreed with Tiki, nodding. "No work should be done halfheartedly, especially firebending. However, the way in which Sifu is used to teaching me is not going to work for everybody."

Syaoran steadfastly agreed. In his opinion, Master Fei did not know what limits were and therefore would only continue to push until something broke. It was only because ZanYi had vouched for him that he had been able to scrape away when he did. For that, he was again thankful. "Well, that's because he's used to working with a prodigy, not the average bender," Syaoran noted, meaning it as a compliment of sorts. But ZanYi whipped around to look at him, eyes narrowed.

"What did you just say?" she asked him, surprised.

And Syaoran gulped. That was something that Master Fei had told them, not her. "Um," he gulped, inching a bit from ZanYi in case she was back to normal with her fury, "Master Fei mentioned it at dinner last night…"

At that, ZanYi jumped to her feet, uncaring that Shun was not done with healing her. She looked away, her face contorted in disbelief, muttering a few choice words. Wary, her golden gaze turned back to survey each of them carefully and deliberately. "What else did he say to you all?" ZanYi asked through tight lips.

Tiki sent a terrified look at Syaoran. She should have known last night's conversation would come back to haunt them. Under the lieutenant's piercing gaze, Tiki cowered. Somehow, her voice was lost, which was not good, because the tiny airbender suspected that if someone did not start talking soon, they were all getting burned and/or electrocuted.

"He was telling us about when he first took you as a student," Shun spoke up bravely. Tiki watched in awe as Shun made direct eye contact with the lieutenant, speaking calmly as he gave her the explanation she wanted. "All he mentioned was that you were a child prodigy and that you tried to produce lightning twice when you were a child. The first try you almost killed yourself, according to Master Fei, but your second try was successful. That was all he told us."

"It was my fault," Tiki burst into speech, moved by Shun's calm demeanor. "I was asking Master Fei questions because I was curious about how you learned your firebending and… I'm sorry, ZanYi."

The airbender bowed her head and dutifully awaited her punishment. After all, both Shun and Syaoran had warned her against poking her nose where it did not belong, and yet she insisted on doing it anyway. The least she could do was take the blame for the mess she had made.

Syaoran could only look at the hints of betrayal that seemed to cloud ZanYi's gaze, but it only lasted a second. She looked from Shun's steady gaze to Tiki's bowed head. Deep breaths were taken, but only once did Syaoran catch a glimpse of fire at her fingertips; the Avatar took that as a positive sign.

"And that's all he told you? That's everything?" she questioned, grim and serious as her golden eyes scanned over the three. Not wanting them to take the full fall, Syaoran nodded as her gaze landed on him.

"That's the only thing he told us before you came in, we swear," Syaoran promised, trying his best to show how sincere he was, even though he did not dare to move.

ZanYi said nothing for a few moments, and Syaoran was sure that several thoughts were running through her head, despite her silence. Eventually she loosened up a little, sighing gruffly. "Fine," she allowed, "but for future reference, if you have questions, ask me. Actually, if you can help it, don't even try to talk to Sifu, and if you do, leave me out of it."

While it seemed impossible to do, Syaoran nodded vigorously, eager to appease the lieutenant.

"You're not gonna kill me?" Tiki asked in shock before her common sense caught up to her. She slapped a hand over her mouth, horror in her eyes. Her and her big mouth.

Shun gave Tiki a look that was a mix between exasperation and amusement. How that child could get her foot so far into her mouth was completely beyond him. The giant waterbender stood up, dusting the sand off his jeans. "Well, we're going to have to think of something else to discuss during lunch today," he said, and then paused, "unless I offended the master firebender too much last night for him to join us for lunch today."

"What I don't understand," Tiki began, also getting to her feet, "is how you, the sweetest guy I know—usually—can get into such trouble with people just by talking." The little airbender sent a surreptitious glance towards ZanYi before her gray eyes re-focused on Syaoran. "Maybe it's just a 'Fire and Ice' thing." she implied, eyebrows raised.

Shun quirked an eyebrow as well, not appreciating Tiki's implications. "Do we need to go somewhere and talk, Teeks?" he 'suggested', just about fed up with Tiki's attitude towards him today.

"Maybe we can 'talk' after lunch," Tiki replied sweetly, her kitty grin beginning to snake its way across her face. "I should have my energy back by then, if you want another round to our tied sparring match?"

"Tied?"

"You went down a fraction of a second before I did. I'm being generous."

ZanYi rose her eyebrows in mild surprise, looking from Tiki to Shun. It seemed quite strange that Shun seemed to be so low on patience; she could hardly count the times she had seen him as such. She looked to Syaoran for a clue, but the Avatar shrugged and had nothing to offer her. "Syaoran, go on back and clean up before lunch," the lieutenant urged him, tilting her head up towards the home. One look at Tiki and Shun made the earthbender feel that was an appropriate choice of action.

"Sounds good," he replied slowly, rising to his feet. Syaoran stumbled a little from his cramping muscles and ZanYi snickered. Once he was steady, and waved to his companions and looked to his teacher again. "Are you coming up, ZanYi?" Syaoran asked.

"Yes," she answered, "I've got to talk to Sifu, so I can do that while you're using the washroom." One last curious look at Shun and Tiki, ZanYi said, "See you at lunch. Don't kill each other. Syaoran needs both of you alive."

She turned and started back up to the home, Syaoran catching up to her side after giving them a really confused look.

Once they were out of sight, Shun rounded on Tiki, his arms crossed. Tiki eyed his flexing biceps, unnerved for a brief moment before she remembered it was just Shun. She then mimicked the giant waterbender's pose.

"What is your problem?" Shun asked pointblank.

"I don't know what you mean," Tiki denied loftily.

"Ever since this morning—"

"Oh, you mean when I found your arms wrapped around the one woman Syaoran cares about?"

"Tiki—"

"I know, I know: 'it wasn't what it looked like.' Oldest line in the book, Shun. You're gonna have to do better than that."

Shun glared at the tiny airbender. Why was she being so difficult? Why was she so insistent that there was something happening when clearly there was not? "Tiki," he began again, striving for the patience that usually came effortlessly to him, "for the last time, what you saw this morning was me just playing around with ZanYi. It meant nothing, and I only see her as a friend."

Tiki let out a long sigh, and she gave him a look that was almost pitying. Shun did not appreciate this look.

"You really are blind," she said, slowly shaking her head. "Shun, don't you realize that every time ZanYi walks into a room, your body immediately angles toward her, like she's the center of the universe? I didn't notice you were doing it at first, but when I realized Syaoran was doing it too, I knew. And, given Syaoran's feelings about the lieutenant… well, you do the math."

A hand went to Shun's throbbing temple to massage it. This was insanity. First it was Sikka, and now it was ZanYi… only now Tiki was implying the opposite. Did she have to find romance in everything? "ZanYi and I are just friends," he asserted once more, "and that's the last I want to hear on this subject, Tiki. And I mean it: no remarks, no looks, nothing. Do not cross me on this, Tiki."

Her expression threatened mutiny, but once she gauged just how serious Shun was, she raised her hands in surrender. "Fine," she conceded, turning on her heel and heading back up to the house, "but don't say I didn't tell you so when the time comes!"

"Tiki!" Shun growled, but the tiny airbender bounded away before Shun could start after her. His headache only grew with every step he took after Tiki.

Why was Tiki always so sure she knew better than everyone else? Shun had heard once before that air nomads were supposed to be a wise people, but he was convinced that Tiki was the rare exception to that rule. But it didn't matter how certain she was that there was something going on between him and ZanYi, because she was wrong. Shun and ZanYi were friends at best, and that relationship was not going to change anytime soon.

* * *

**A/N from Eva: Ohhhhh dear. Things have certainly taken a turn for the interesting... :3 Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter-I know I did! XD And now onto the acknowledgements!  
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**Japaneserockergirl: Hahaha, unfortunately the sparring match between Shun and Tiki ended in a draw! But don't worry-you'll get to see more of what they can do later!  
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**Turtleboyz: Thanks for the alert! DJ and I are pleased that you are enjoying the story so far! :D  
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**And a bonus for you guys: DJ has just finished the art rendition of Sergeant Major Zaron Tsong! Go check it out! FanFiction doesn't like links, so just go to our profile and click on the dA link under DJ's bio! He's handsome-you should go ogle him. XD That's all for now! See you next Friday~!  
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	18. The Warning

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire**

**By Twins of the Pen**

**Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

* * *

"Princess ZanYi."

The firebender heard the call and stopped in her steps, turning to find her teacher striding towards her. It was late, the day had been long, and ZanYi certainly did not want it to be any longer. She'd managed to keep the elder at bay during meals, but now it seemed the man wanted to talk. That wasn't a bad thing, since she couldn't manage to find a private moment with him earlier, but for him to seek her out was a different story entirely.

ZanYi turned to face him, unsure of what to expect. To her knowledge, her companions had each retired for the evening. It was just her returning late from dinner when Master Fei stopped her, the torches lighting the hall. "Yes, Sifu?" she responded, expectant and still.

The man just looked at her and nodded towards the nearby courtyard. "Walk with me," he suggested, starting forward before he received any reply. Seeing as there was no distinct reason to decline this time, ZanYi followed, falling into his step. It was quiet for a moment, and when she stepped outside, the moon provided more light along with the flames. As he continued into the small garden, the air crisp with the late smells of spring, ZanYi sat on the wooden step, looking at him.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"Always in such a rush to get to the point," Master Fei commented, looking at the rocks and shrubs, his hand stroking the wooden beams surrounding. It was unseen, but mostly likely predicted that ZanYi rolled her eyes. "I just wanted to chat with you, Princess. It's been a while."

ZanYi pursed her lips and sighed a little. "Yes, yes it has…" she mused, looking to her master's back. "What did you want to chat about?"

She heard him chuckle, as if amused. "I saw a rather curious thing on my way to your training this morning," he began his tale and ZanYi quirked an eyebrow, having no clue as to what he could be talking about. With the amount of tangents he went on, it was always impossible to tell. He took her silence as a cue to continue. "I saw one of my favorite students go for a swim this morning… And then I happened to see that student being embraced by a young man I only had the impression was a companion to her…"

With exasperation, the lieutenant huffed, "Sifu—"

"Tell me, Princess," he cut in, turning to face her with inquiry on his face, "are you 'seeing' the waterbender, or whatever you call it?"

"Sifu, no. Absolutely not. Shun is just…" ZanYi trailed, trying to find a word apt to describe it. To be quite honest, she was not quite sure what it was, but she supposed they had elevated to something akin to friendship, not that she particularly cared.

"Princess," came her master's voice and it drew her gaze to him. Surprisingly, he was looking at her with a peculiar expression on his face. "It's quite all right if you are, though I can't say I am particularly fond of him, the way he seems to glorify your role in this whole mess the world is in—"

"Sifu," she interrupted, even holding up a hand, "Shun and I are not together. This morning he was just horsing around or something."

Master Fei seemed to take that into account, and it only served to amuse him further it seemed, a small smile gracing his aged face. "If that ever happened to change, that you realized you care for the man, or otherwise," he continued, and ZanYi looked away in exasperation as he sat next to her, "you do realize it would be okay, yes? For you to be happy?"

She looked back at him, a myriad of emotions inside her. "What's that supposed to mean?" the lieutenant demanded.

"That if you ever found someone you care for, that it's okay. Find someone, get out of the war, settle down, and be happy. There is more to life outside of this war, after this war." His brow furrowed. "You don't have to let fighting it be the only thing you live for."

ZanYi remained silent for a moment before shaking her head. "Maybe there is," she supposed, "but right now, unless I do my job, there will not be anything more for us benders after the war. I can't afford to think like that right now."

"Then someday?" her teacher persisted, his brows pinching together, "Your parents would have wanted you to be happy, not to spend your life suffering for others. They would be proud of you either way, but they would want you to be happy and truly live."

ZanYi sighed, a bit wistful, a bit irritated. "Well, I wouldn't know that, would I?" she muttered under her breath, looking to Master Fei with a bit of melancholy. The firebending elder reached out a hand to rest it on her head, the same look on his face.

"But I do. Which is why I'm telling you."

The master and student sat in silence, letting the symphony of the night flutter around them. ZanYi could not recall the last time she had talked to him like this. Then again, it had to have been at least five years prior. And with everything in her life, she couldn't afford to consider his words. ZanYi stood up and stepped back inside. "I'll see you in the morning, Sifu," she bade goodnight, walking back to her room.

The hall was silent when she returned and so was her room. Upon entrance, she kicked off her shoes and stripped down to her top and shorts. Walking over to the dresser, she pulled out her hair tie and let her raven locks fall to her shoulders. ZanYi looked at the mirror, then down to the sole photo that rested there in the frame. In her head, she knew she bore quite a resemblance to the woman in the photo holding a baby, but she still felt like it was comparing it to a stranger.

ZanYi opened her window and let the breeze overcome her. She lifted both of her legs over, seating herself on the ledge, looking out onto the sea. "He never leaves this island. He doesn't know… There isn't anything but war anymore…" she whispered softly in the wind.

This island may be filled with quiet, with peace. The people may live here as if little is wrong and the creatures wander about without a care. The waves will flap and the sky will stay blue. But when the lieutenant knew the world outside this place was filled with fire, dark skies, and painful cries, she couldn't stay, couldn't think like her teacher.

The time for love and life was not now, and ZanYi would see to it that her only focus was making a world where others could have those in peace. It was for others that she did this, and the lieutenant steadfastly refused to lose sight of that.

* * *

In the moonlit night, far from the shore, Shun surfaced from the sea for the second time that day. He spat out a stream of water and gasped for air, having stayed under much longer than he meant to.

Shun was taking another dip in the ocean to work off some steam. Tiki's words had left him agitated, and he was distracted for the rest of the day after the tiny airbender had forced her opinions on him. For some reason, it was all the waterbender could think about, which was aggravating, since there wasn't a bit of truth to Tiki's musings. So why, then, was it still bothering him?

Shun smacked the surface of the ocean, the movement causing a large jet of water to spout into the air before falling back into the ocean in a motion like raindrops. Shun sighed heavily. This was not like him at all. Since when did he get riled up over the wild things Tiki said? That was Syaoran's job! Maybe it was the fact that Tiki was suggesting he would sneak around with ZanYi when Shun knew perfectly well that Syaoran had feelings for the lieutenant. Really, what kind of guy did Tiki think he was? Shun was insulted on principle.

Beginning to swim back, Shun knew it was about time for him to get some sleep, but he was not tired. While wondering whether or not he wanted to go back inside just to lie awake all night, Shun spotted a cluster of boulders nearby. He swam over to that instead, his powerful strokes getting him there in no time. As the giant waterbender climbed to the top of the cluster, he took a seat and stared up at the moon, as if the lunar rock in the sky held answers for him.

Why did Tiki think he was interested in ZanYi, anyway? She said something about his body angling when the lieutenant walked into a room or something… Well, ZanYi never walked into a room without a purpose, he had learned. Wasn't it just polite manners that caused him to angle his body towards the lieutenant, giving her his full attention? The same could be also said of Syaoran, he was sure, for the Avatar was raised with manners as well, even if he didn't always use them. Maybe Tiki was seeing things simply because she was not familiar with proper etiquette…

…And he was still pondering the issue uselessly. Shun growled under his breath, his hands moving of their own accord and causing tumult with the waves below the cluster of boulders.

"Dang it, Tiki," he cursed her bitterly. If it weren't for the self-assured airbender, Shun could be in bed right now, sleeping peacefully instead of being irritated over a non-issue. This was not cool.

Unbeknownst to him, from her perch on her windowsill, ZanYi saw the erratic and unusual movement around the water, and knew exactly what was big enough to cause it. After a moment of consideration, she slipped down off the ledge and onto the ground, making her way towards the beach.

When she reached the black grains, she looked out on the water, seeing how the moon glimmered off of it and how it shined down brightly on Shun. His large form was visible on some rocks off the shore, a grand shadow on top. In the bright milky light, she could see the aggravation etched on his face, how it tightened the very muscles there. The water glimmered off of him, giving him a sort of sparkle and shine, and ZanYi would have found that it was quite picturesque, if she had not known the man out on the water or cared about that sort of thing.

"Shun?" she called out to the waves, even though she knew it was him. While the idea of another swim was not exactly appealing to her at the moment, she had no distinct complaints. ZanYi waded out a bit before swimming over to the rocks. She climbed up gingerly before sitting herself on the one next to Shun. "Can't sleep?" ZanYi queried, looking over at him.

Shun gave a little jump, but immediately relaxed when he heard the voice. Of course ZanYi would pick now to seek him out. No offense to her, but he wanted to see less of the lieutenant at the moment.

"You could say that," Shun mumbled, avoiding her gaze as he looked up at the night sky once more, pleading with the moon spirit for this conversation to be as short as possible. He did not want ZanYi to see him like this, all worked up over the opinions and assumings of a child who did not know any better. He balled his hands into fists to stop the chaotic wave movements below him, knowing such unusual activity would give him away. "What are you still doing up?" he was polite enough to ask, keeping his eyes firmly on the moon. ZanYi wasn't really one to pry, unless it was important, so if he could just act normal—or as normal as the situation allowed—she should leave him be after a few minutes of exchanged pleasantries.

ZanYi eyed the water, how it swirled and thrashed erratically. It only reinforced her thoughts about Shun's current state of mind, which was odd. After all, he was not the type of guy to get worked up over just anything. In fact, his patience was abundant and it seemed almost impossible for anything to get to him. Almost. ZanYi knew better.

"Don't want to sleep," she answered him, resting back on her hands, a knee up as she let her other foot dip in the water absentmindedly. There was a lot on her mind, a lot that Master Fei had unloaded on her, and none of it did she want to consider. Her gaze focused on Shun, noting how he wouldn't look at her, which she also found odd considering he was all about manners and communication. "What's eating at you, Big Guy? Something wrong with you and Tiki?"

Even after her and Syaoran had left them, the tension between the two had lasted the rest of the day, or at least it seemed on Shun's end of things. Which meant something was most certainly up.

Shun had eyed the lieutenant curiously from the corner of his eye. She didn't want to sleep? Who didn't like sleep? As much as ZanYi worked, Shun thought she would have a better relationship with her bed. But, now that he thought about it, the lieutenant had quite a lot to think about, probably more than anyone.

And yet she was worried about him. When she mentioned Tiki, Shun sucked in a deep breath, counted to ten, and released it slowly.

"…No," he said truthfully after a little consideration. He was not really mad at Tiki. He was more frustrated with himself for being so fixated on the words of a child. "There's nothing wrong with me and Tiki. She just said a lot of things I didn't like."

Here, Shun turned a wry smile onto ZanYi. "You know what that's like, right?" he teased, some of his good humor returning. Tiki's words still buzzed in his mind, but he was able to ignore them a little better. He knew there was nothing between him and ZanYi. That was really all that mattered.

The lieutenant scoffed, shaking her head in exasperation before dipping it back to face skyward. Opening her eyes, she trained them on the moon and stars above. "You got that right…" she muttered. A bit of agitation and irritation started to creep back to her as Master Fei's words came back. "You don't want to think about what they're saying, but there's a part of you that can't stop thinking about it anyway, wondering."

She didn't want to think about what her teacher had said. She didn't want to consider a life after the war. Her goal was to do everything in her power to end it. And with all that it entailed, it was difficult to make time to think of anything else. She also didn't want to get her hopes up, thinking that the war would end.

Shrugging it off, she turned her head so she looked to Shun instead of the celestial matter in the sky. "It's good that you're not upset with Tiki," she said to him, bringing the topic back, "because she drives the rest of us nuts. She needs an ally."

Shun gave a weak chuckle.

"It's my cross to bear," he said, wearing a martyred expression before chuckling again. "She's a good kid. I wouldn't have lost my patience with her if she didn't think she knew everything there is to know about romance."

Shun sighed and began massaging his temple again. "A nineteen-year-old girl lecturing me on love. What are the odds?"

As if Tiki knew anything about romance. Shun was willing to bet the tiny airbender would be more excited about a set of coloring books and crayons than a date with a boy. ZanYi shook her head in disbelief at the mere thought. Tiki lecturing on anything at all was like getting a lecture from a gradeschooler. And on romance? Well, that just did not seem feasible. No wonder Shun was irked by it.

"Yeah, that does sound pretty terrible," ZanYi cringed, agreeing with the large waterbender. With a quick look, she did add, "Although, if it was about Sikka again, I think she's right. Just my two-cents worth."

The frown returned to Shun's face. Now ZanYi was insisting Sikka had a thing for him too? Was he missing something here? Shun ran through all the conversations he had ever had with Sikka—which he could count on one hand—and he found nothing special in them. Was this a female intuition thing, where ZanYi and Tiki could just sense it? Because he just did not get it.

"We weren't talking about Sikka this time around," he told the lieutenant honestly, "but I still can't wrap my head around that one. I mean, what would Sikka see in me? I hardly spoke to her except for on occasion. Besides, she has Ransik."

The lieutenant made a face, wondering who Tiki could have been lecturing about if it wasn't Sikka. However, she did not care enough to pursue the thought very far before answering, "It's just infatuation. Her and Ransik have been dancing around each other for so long, she's probably trying to start looking elsewhere."

"Ah. So I was something new to look at?" Shun joked, still not fully believing that Sikka was actually attracted to him. She had never said so, anyway...ugh, people planting these doubts was getting wearisome.

ZanYi snorted, "You were just the new guy to come along."

And the new guy to come to the island. And the new guy that her teacher had seen hugging her—though ZanYi more preferred to think of it as a hold. At the memory, ZanYi leaned forward a bit, draping one of her arms across her upright knee, looking back out at the water again, how the ripples distorted the reflections of the heavens above.

"If its any consolation, it's not any better when you get advice from the elderly," ZanYi tried to help, rolling her eyes at her own predicament. Not only had it been Master Fei, but he'd had to drag her parents into it as well. That was so much worse than dealing with her own brother on the matter; she just told Zaron to bug off.

Shun glanced sideways at ZanYi. "Master Fei wasn't giving you dating advice, was he?" he ventured a guess, smirking a little. The giant waterbender could only imagine how such a conversation would go. It was kind of an amusing mental image.

"And yes, that is exactly what Sifu was trying to do, I think," ZanYi said bitterly, unpleased. The lieutenant didn't have time to think about romance or dating—she'd learned that already. It's not like she hadn't tried before—contrary to probably what her master and her brother both hoped. But it just wasn't the right time for her. And ZanYi was completely fine with that.

"The man just doesn't get it…" she mumbled, letting out another long, drawn out sigh.

Shun snorted at ZanYi's confirmation. He wondered why such a subject was brought up, but that was ZanYi's business. And she looked like she did not care to relive it. "Master Fei doesn't seem to get a lot of things. He's a great man," Shun amended, feeling as if he was being disrespectful, "just… old-fashioned. And look at it this way: would you rather have someone who knows you well stick their nose in your business, or someone who _thinks_ they know better?"

Frankly, Shun would have preferred the former, if given the choice between the two. At least an old master would know what he was talking about, instead of rambling on with baseless conjecture like a certain airbender Shun knew.

ZanYi thought about it for a moment, and she supposed Shun did have a point. But then again, so did the other option. "If it's someone who thinks they know better, it's easier to ignore them when you don't want to listen," she pointed out, a bit disgruntled. "When they know you or think they know you, it's a bit harder to tune them out."

Master Fei was her teacher, and sometimes more than that. It was hard to take his words from her mind because normally they were meant to stay there. And especially when he spoke to her frankly like he did tonight, it was just as difficult.

"I could blame you for this," she figured aloud, shaking her head in exasperation. "Apparently he saw us in the water this morning and read into it completely wrong."

Shun's jaw went slack, and he turned to give ZanYi an incredulous look.

"You're kidding," he said, almost laughing at the odds, "Tiki's been giving me grief about that all day! She read into it wrong too, of course." Shun did laugh at this point, amused at the coincidence. What were the odds that Master Fei would draw the same conclusion as Tiki? It was a little scary, when Shun thought about it. "You're right, it is my fault," he acknowledged, stroking his stubbly chin. "I was the one fooling around…"

Shun turned to quirk an eyebrow at the lieutenant. "If you want, you can tell them both that you promptly slapped me for being a cad and ordered me never to touch you again. Maybe that would satisfy them." He was joking, of course. Nothing had happened to make ZanYi slap him… but Master Fei and Tiki apparently seemed to think otherwise. Shun fervently hoped that such a misunderstanding would not reach Syaoran's ears.

Shun looked away at the next moment, smirking. Now he found it amusing that both Tiki and Master Fei would think he and ZanYi were an item. Didn't they know water and fire weren't really compatible? Tiki had implied as much earlier. Shun was irritated by it in the beginning, but looking back now, he had to admit she had a fair point. He got along with ZanYi fine—most days—but he did not believe that was a sign that they were meant to be together or anything…

ZanYi looked at Shun in disbelief. Had they really been talking about the same incident by two different people? It was just so ridiculous that the lieutenant herself laughed a little, in shock. "I can't believe this…" she muttered under her breath.

She looked at Shun, shaking her head. Of course Tiki had read into it like that; she was Tiki and had an overactive imagination. Why that would cause their tiff, ZanYi did not know, but it made sense that the small girl would berate him about it.

"I'm not going to tell them anything. You were just trying to mess with me," she told Shun, looking back out to the crashing waves of the night. "Even if something had happened, it's neither of their business," ZanYi continued a little harshly, striking that nerve again like Master Fei had already done. "What I do and what kind of life I choose is my decision, not theirs."

Maybe the military made her happy. Maybe it didn't. But she was part of something bigger than herself, fighting for a cause. ZanYi was making a difference and ending what had been started so long ago.

"I just want it to end…" she muttered, completely unaware she had said the thought aloud.

ZanYi's soft admission brought Shun's attention back to her, surprised. There was rarely a moment when ZanYi allowed herself to be vulnerable. Shun had only witnessed such a moment once, and it was when he was hiding around a corner, where ZanYi could not see him. Hearing her say such a thing out loud now stirred something within him, and he found himself reaching for her. He placed an arm around her shoulders, bringing her head to rest on his shoulder. His thumb stroked her arm in an attempt to comfort her as he stared out into the darkness of the night, and the reflected darkness in the sea.

"…Everything's going to be okay," he murmured, his voice soft. "It will end. And we will win. As long as there is fight left in our nation of benders, we will win."

Shun firmly believed that. It did not matter who was an earthbender or a waterbender or a firebender or an airbender: at the end of the day, they were a united front fighting for the same rights they've always been fighting for. No matter what the enemy tried, they could not break their spirits. Even if some fell, others would rise to the occasion, to defend their right to be who they were. Shun was as proud as any bender to be one, and he would not let that pride and ability be taken from him. That had already been tried once. It would not happen again.

ZanYi's brow furrowed a little, eyes looking from the arm that had pulled her close, to the man who had done the act. She had to attribute the action to him trying to be of comfort, though the lieutenant did not feel as if she needed that. That she could handle herself. But that didn't stop Shun's intended effect; his voice was soft, thumb strumming against her arm as if it would calm her.

She looked away and back out to the water, serious. "I'm never going to stop fighting. Not until this is done or I'm done," she vowed, and then ZanYi became silent, burning the oath into her mind and heart. It did not matter what her teacher wanted, what her brother said, or what anyone tried to decide for her. ZanYi had chosen for herself and nothing was going to deter her from it. Nothing and no one.

The lieutenant eyed Shun's slow thumb again as it moved across her skin and shook her head. "You do realize that is what got us into this mess to begin with, right?" she reminded him, scoffing a little. Whispering into his ear she told him, smirking, "Don't worry, it'll be our secret."

Shrugging out of the embrace, ZanYi rose to her feet on the rock and put her hands on her hips as she shifted her weight there. Her head was tilted as the corner of her mouth stayed up, able to look down to Shun for a rare moment as the moon washed over her. "But if it bothers you what people say, you might want to watch that a little bit. I don't care, but you seem to. I can ignore the encouragements of Sifu, but if whatever Tiki said bothered you, you might want to think about why, Shun."

ZanYi turned to face the stars afar, her confidence there in her gaze. "When we can't let go of something people said, or it rubs us the wrong way, there's always a reason. And sometimes there's a little bit of truth, just enough to make you wonder about it." When she looked back down at Shun, an eyebrow was lifted gently. "You just got to make the call about why it makes you wonder."

Shun was not bothered when ZanYi shrugged his arm away. He had been half-expecting her to tell him to bug off and that she did not need his comfort. But she did not. Instead, she did something far more disturbing: she gave him another reason to worry about Tiki's maddening chatter.

Shun stared out at the darkened ocean, contemplating the lieutenant's logic. While Tiki's assumptions were intrusive, that was not what bothered him about them, because most of Tiki's questions and contemplations were usually of the nosy variety. If he had to guess, the giant waterbender would say that Tiki's assumptions bothered him because she made him sound like some dastardly villain, stealing away the princess that Syaoran, as the hero, would have to come rescue. This answer made the most sense, but he was going to have to keep it to himself, both for Syaoran's sake and his—if _he_ dared to call ZanYi 'princess', he had a feeling he was going to wake up years later in a hospital, breathing through a tube.

Shun looked up to thank ZanYi for her wisdom—and to maybe give an altered version of the truth on why he thought Tiki's ramblings were irking him—when he paused to take in the view. The stars were beautiful tonight, echoing the radiance of the moon, yet ZanYi seemed to shine just as much as they did. Beads of water still clung to her skin and hair, and she gazed down at him with a look that was almost indulgent, amused. Somehow, to Shun, she looked like a goddess.

Once sense caught up to him, Shun realized he was staring, and he looked away quickly. He had inexplicably become too hot—though the air around the island was already balmy—and he rubbed his chin to think through the madness his mind had suddenly sunken into.

"Hmm," he managed to get out, getting to his feet after an unsettling moment. "I guess I have to think about that then. For now, I'm gonna go try and get some sleep." Shun turned to give ZanYi the briefest of his polite smiles. "Good night, Lieutenant." And the giant waterbender dove into the water below, re-emerging only when he was close enough to walk onto the shore.

The brief, cool swim had done nothing to calm him. His heart was still beating way too fast, as if he had been swimming nonstop for hours. And his face was still way too warm. What was this, and where was it coming from? Had something foreign bit him while he was sitting there, conversing with ZanYi? Did he now harbor some weird, tropical disease?

Shun did not understand what was happening, and it worried him. He took a few deep breaths, and his heart eased into its normal rhythm while the heat in his cheeks faded. Slowly, it dawned on him that he had been embarrassed. But why? He was rarely ever embarrassed about anything, save for his phobia of cramped places and the occasional bout of clumsiness. Shun replayed through his thoughts, pausing only when he reached the part where his mind considered ZanYi to be a goddess. Shun frowned. A 'goddess'? Wasn't that going overboard? Sure, ZanYi was a beautiful woman, but…

'_Hold on,_' Shun thought to himself as he strode through the halls of ZanYi's old home, heading back to his room, '_since when have I found ZanYi beautiful? Have I always thought so…?_'

Shun heaved a sigh. Ever since Tiki opened her big mouth this morning, it had been nothing but his relationship with ZanYi occupying his thoughts, and now he was doing it to himself. Okay, so he thought ZanYi was beautiful. Big deal, it was normal. Syaoran also thought—wait. Bad example. But it still wasn't a big deal.

So, as Shun lay down on his bed, he used an enormous amount of his willpower to push Tiki's ramblings and his own self-doubts out of his mind. Once that was done, he was able to roll over and fall asleep with relative ease, assured of the one fact he still held onto: he and ZanYi were just friends. He had her back, and she had his. Nothing was going to change that fact.

Nothing.

* * *

It was already lunchtime, and Syaoran had still yet to see ZanYi. After the previous morning, he found it a ludicrous idea to attempt to go through training with Master Fei again, so he'd taken the opportunity to sleep in before working on his bending on his own. A good while with just him and some rocks had felt great, and Syaoran was at the point where it was not a disaster to practice his firebending forms on his own. In fact, he had done pretty well with them, and the Avatar was surprisingly satisfied. When he walked down into the dining room, he was surprised to find everyone there aside from the lieutenant. Even her teacher was back and at the head of the table, so it made no sense to him as to why she would be missing. "Where's ZanYi?" he asked collectively, taking a seat next to Tiki.

"Oh, just cleaning up from this morning's exercises," Master Fei answered, smiling. However, Syaoran felt as if he was grinning a bit too smugly for such a simple answer—which made him then consider just how bad of a mood the lieutenant was going to be in when she arrived.

He did not have to wait long to find out.

"Sifu, you son of a—!"

"—Watch your mouth, Princess," Master Fei interrupted, not even looking up from his food. Syaoran, however, turned to the sound of ZanYi's anger, slowly. Whatever the elder firebender had done, it was bad. Very rarely did the lieutenant raise her voice in such a way. And he could see why.

Coming down the stairs, ZanYi looked quite unlike herself. Her usual garb was nowhere to be seen, and she looked as though she had stepped out of an age-old time. Her hair hung to her shoulders, damp from what must have been a bath, but everything below that was different. Her midriffed top was a rich crimson, and it tied together behind her neck, a halter. Her pants were not her military issue, but rather a pair of red pants, which cuffed together at her ankles. ZanYi wasn't even wearing her boots, but rather… flats? Just what had happened?

The lieutenant stormed down the stairs, fury in her eyes and it was directed to her elder. "You set me up," she growled. "Where are my clothes?"

"They were atrociously dirty, so they're being washed," Master Fei explained calmly, eating delicately with a smug smile.

"And all of my civvies?"

"Oh, those things? Well, you have been gone for five years. I figured you wouldn't fit them any more and got rid of them long ago."

"And my hair ties? What excuse do you have for those?"

"Is that what those were? I just saw some dirty old rubber bands and cleaned those out as well." Master Fei finally looked up to his glaring pupil and grinned at her. "What's wrong with those clothes? They fit you quite nicely. Very proper for the Fire Nation's heir, though if you want to pull back your hair, I could certainly help you with a topknot."

ZanYi gave him the dirtiest look she could muster in her anger. She did not say a word, trying to decipher just how it would end. Master Fei uttered a small apology and went back to his food, but Syaoran was highly certain that the man was not indeed sorry, and he was probably rather pleased with this turn of events. When the man refused to speak to her any further, ZanYi grit her teeth and marched over to the empty seat next to Shun and filled her plate.

"Well, ZanYi—"

"Not a word, Syaoran," she cut him off, not even wanting to know where he was going with that.

"You look pretty, ZanYi," Tiki spoke up, probably stealing Syaoran's line. But hey, the lieutenant didn't tell _her_ not to say a word. Besides, she was complimenting ZanYi. There was nothing wrong with that, right?

In normal circumstances, Shun would have given Tiki some sort of look that suggested that she quiet down before she got herself in trouble… again. However, the giant waterbender was too busy not looking at ZanYi to mind what Tiki was doing. When the lieutenant had first entered the room, Shun had nearly choked on the chunk of rice he was consuming. ZanYi did indeed look like a princess, as Shun was sure was Master Fei's aim. What Shun did not expect was his heart rate to increase and his face to catch fire once again. Seriously, what was happening to him?

"Tiki, pass me that jug of water," he suddenly requested of the tiny airbender. Tiki quirked a brow at him, but she did as she was told.

"Why not just bend the water into your glass?" she suggested as she watched Shun pour himself a glass of water. She was not sure, but she thought she could see his hand shaking.

"That would be a waste of energy as well as impolite," he told her after downing the glass in one gulp before pouring himself another. "Is anyone else warm?" he could not help but ask, feeling uncertain. Was he the only one feeling inexplicably strange at the table?

"I know I am," ZanYi agreed with Shun, but for an entirely different reason. She fixated a dark look at her mentor, continuing, "I wish I had something to pull my hair back with. Oh, wait—I did."

"Topknot?" Master Fei suggested simply, looking to his student with a knowing smirk, his brow raised like his question.

ZanYi's temper flared, as did her hands for a brief moment. However, the lieutenant reigned it quickly back in and ate a little bit, silencing herself before everything she wanted to say to her master spilled out. Glancing up from his plate, Syaoran saw the lieutenant and couldn't help but get a little pink in the face. It was certainly obvious to him that, despite the age of the style, it still fit ZanYi perfectly. While it was a devious plot enacted by Master Fei, Syaoran did enjoy the sight himself.

So, despite, the lieutenant's warning, he bravely ventured to agree with Tiki. "You really do look pretty, ZanYi," Syaoran said. The narrowed look that he received made him gulp, and ZanYi did not say a word to him. Instead, she looked to Shun.

"Hey, Shun. Are you going to drink all of the water or can the rest of us have some?" she asked him, holding her empty glass.

Shun paused in the middle of pouring himself a third glass of water, eyeing ZanYi's empty glass as if it would bite him. '_Get a grip,_' he told himself firmly. There was nothing wrong with the lieutenant asking him to pour her some water, after all. "Sorry," he apologized humbly, reaching for her glass to hold it steady while he poured. His fingertips brushed the skin of her hand, and it was like an electric current ran through him. He hastily snatched his hand back, thoroughly confused. Did ZanYi just shock him?

But when the giant waterbender looked at her hand, it was not pulsing with electricity… Did he imagine it? Shaking his head, Shun held the top part of the glass this time, filling ZanYi's glass to the brim with water. Without a look or a word, Shun returned to his own glass, filling it as well before he finally relinquished his hold on the water jug. He sipped his water this time, trying to keep the confusion from his expression.

Tiki was already looking at him funny, though. Shun recognized that familiar judging look she wore, and when she opened her mouth, he was ready to cut her off.

"What did we discuss yesterday, Tiki?" Shun reminded her with a significant look.

Tiki remembered: "no snide remarks, no looks, nothing"… or something along those lines. But come on, did he really expect her to stay silent when he was acting so suspiciously? He lifted an eyebrow, challenging her. Suddenly, Tiki recalled that, out of the three, Shun was the one who was nicest to her. She really could not afford making an enemy out of him. So it was with an enormous amount of self-control that the tiny airbender smiled sweetly at him and made a zipper motion across her lips, satisfying him.

And all the while, Master Fei could only look on with amusement at the table's clandestine happenings. It was quite clear to him what was going on—and quite clear that his student was either oblivious or callous to it all. Syaoran was clearly a bit smitten with ZanYi, something he had guessed at possibly, but was quite clear by the way the earthbender kept sneaking glances at ZanYi as he ate. Also, while she may not be seeing the waterbender, like she told him the night prior, the master certainly saw a quite different story from Shun's side. And yet, his student insisted that she did not want this sort of happiness in her life. It was enough to exasperate him.

"Shun," Master Fei spoke up, looking to the large man with a touch of mischief in his eyes, but his smile completely innocent as he asked, "what do you think of Princess ZanYi's change in attire?"

"Sifu," ZanYi warned dangerously, putting down her utensils, trying to keep the fire within her from spilling out.

The elder waved a dismissive hand. "I'm trying to prove a point. We've heard from everyone else at the table," Master Fei stated matter-of-factly.

"I don't care. Drop it."

But her master shook his head. "You created such a fuss over a mere wardrobe change. It's only fair we get the opinions of your friends, isn't it?" He looked to Shun again. "What do you think? We have two among us who find her pretty, and I certainly find her radiant."

Syaoran was not entirely sure what was happening, but it felt like the firebender was trying to egg on ZanYi's irritation. Personally, the Avatar thought that sounded like a deadly thing to do, but he supposed Master Fei had enough reason not to fear the lieutenant as much as the rest of them did.

Shun sighed. Master Fei, it seemed, was not finished picking on ZanYi and Shun had been dragged into it as well now. True, he had avoided commenting on ZanYi's attire, because the lieutenant looked very unhappy to be wearing what she was wearing. Shun was trying to be diplomatic… but maybe there was a way to do that without keeping his silence. "ZanYi looks beautiful in anything she wears," the giant waterbender said quietly, finding the words to be true even as he spoke them. He kept his eyes on his plate as he said this, however, finding himself embarrassed again.

Tiki sent a pitying glance Shun's way. Really? He had just called the lieutenant beautiful, and he was _still_ going to deny that he felt anything for her? He might as well have been blind physically, with how ignorant he seemed to be to his own heart.

The rest of the table grew quiet. ZanYi turned to look at Shun, perplexed. That was certainly not what she had expected him to say. Frankly, the lieutenant wasn't certain how on earth the waterbender was going to get out of Master Fei's questioning at all, but to have him answer like that…

"What?" she accidentally said aloud in her confusion. For a guy who was very irritated by Tiki insinuating something was between them, Shun was not helping his case. And there was something about the way he'd said it too that wasn't quite normal…

Syaoran noticed it too, and he gripped his utensils a bit tightly. Normally, the Avatar was fine concerning Shun. The guy's heart was as big as the rest of him, and he was just naturally caring. Syaoran knew him and the lieutenant got along well, but never had he even considered that there could be more. And yet, the way that Shun seemed so embarrassed by the admission—contrary to his normal bold and tactful words—made the suspicion stir up in him. Unlike when Syaoran said anything, the lieutenant didn't seem angry. Just confused. He knew he did not like that difference.

Master Fei watched the reactions around the table, many of his previous observations only cemented as fact for him. The accusatory look that the Avatar was inadvertently giving Shun did not escape him, nor the way Shun could not look anywhere but his plate as he spoke. The firebending elder pursed his lips thoughtfully, storing this information for later as he appraised Shun again.

"Well-said, I suppose," he agreed with hesitance, as if it were a travesty to even consider the lieutenant's military uniform as something to amplify her looks. However, his pride over ZanYi as a whole won out and Master Fei was satisfied with the waterbender's answer. Shun let out a quiet sigh of relief. It seemed he had successfully dodged a bullet. ZanYi was not even angry at him, just a little confused, if Shun was interpreting her tone correctly. Still, that was better than what could have happened…

The giant waterbender finally glanced up to see that the Avatar was not giving him the friendliest of looks. Shun frowned slightly when he registered the unhappiness on Syaoran's face. Had he said something wrong after all?

"Maybe you should be a model, ZanYi," Tiki suggested lightly, the only one at the table who seemed undeterred by the tense atmosphere and Shun's sudden proclamation. He was only proving her point, in any case, though he seemed unaware of it. Tiki smirked at this, though she knew that her being right was not without its price.

The tiny airbender snuck a sideways glance at Syaoran, unsurprised to see that he was not particularly pleased with the compliment Shun had paid to ZanYi. Tiki felt bad for him. She had already given Shun her two cents on the situation, but if she was being honest with herself, Tiki felt that if ZanYi, Syaoran and Shun got caught up in a love triangle, Shun would probably emerge victorious. ZanYi viewed Syaoran in much the same way as she viewed Tiki: as a child. That was going to be a hard challenge for the Avatar to overcome, one that Shun did not have to fight against.

So, even though the tiny airbender was rooting for the Avatar, Tiki could not help but think that Syaoran's crush on the lieutenant was ill-fated.

Master Fei felt the same, but he said nothing either, just watching the scene unfold in front of him. He knew his student well enough to know that she was not attracted to either of her male companions—currently. However, there was certainly room to change that, and based on everything he'd seen since their arrival, Master Fei would be betting on Shun. However, the firebender did not gamble and he also kept his mouth shut for once.

ZanYi gave Tiki an annoyed look. "Do not ever suggest that again if you value your life," she told Tiki, thoroughly annoyed with whatever was happening at this table. The lieutenant pushed her chair back and stood, hands palmed to the table. "Look, I don't know what is going on here, but all of you should just—"

She was interrupted by the sudden thudding of feet. Distracted, ZanYi looked over to find one of the White Lotus members bounding down the stairs and, if she was not mistaken, he seemed a bit panicked. "What's going on?" she asked aloud, her mood starting to shift. The man looked from ZanYi to her teacher before deciding on the latter.

"Master Fei, we have a problem," he said. At those simple words, Syaoran's irritation with Shun was pushed to the side and the White Lotus member had his full attention. 'Problem' was never a good word to hear these days, and considering the following exchange, it was warranted. "They're coming."

"Who's coming?" ZanYi demanded, looking from the White Lotus member to Master Fei. The two both seemed to know exactly what was meant, and they both grew grave. The elder firebender rose slowly, solemn and silent. "Tell me, who is coming?" she ordered again, looking at Master Fei.

However, the man only looked at the White Lotus member. "How long do we have?"

"It's probably only a matter of days."

Master Fei's face grew dark and still, as if thinking through this information. The only thing that broke his train of thought was ZanYi's voice, speaking aloud again and this time slowly enunciating every word. "Sifu, what is happening? Who is coming?"

With great regret and severity, Master Fei looked at the room of young adults. "The Neo-Equalists. They've been making their way through the islands. It was only a matter of time…"

Syaoran's eyes grew wide. Even when they weren't searching for him, the enemy forces still managed to find him. This wasn't good news. He looked to the lieutenant, whose face had turned to stone. It was rigid, fierce. "What do we do?" she asked, shifting into a feeling of fight that she knew much better than anything that had just transpired at lunch.

Master Fei answered shorly, "For now: I don't know."

Everything else was driven from Shun's mind as well. Now was not the time to be arguing amongst themselves. Something much more dire was happening, currently. "Maybe we should leave," he suggested as delicately as he could, frowning in concern. "Our being here could put you all in danger, Master Fei."

"But where would we go?" Tiki piped up, worry turning her gray eyes stormy. "We risked everything to come here because it was supposed to be one of the safest places left!" Tiki felt a shiver run through her, one of fear. Tiki hugged herself to keep the others from noticing. Was it possible that the Neo-Equalists also knew that Syaoran was here? How could they? It had only been three days since they arrived at the island, and ZanYi had gone AWOL. Had they just been sitting turtle ducks the whole time, unknowing of the threat that was to befall them in a matter of days?

ZanYi's mind was reeling. This place was safe; it had always been. The enemy forces had never focused on the small islands. The lieutenant hadn't even considered what they were doing outside of the Earth Kingdom. She'd brought them here, only to have the forces encroaching anyway. Her only intent had been to protect them, keep them safe for the time being. "Did you know there was a possibility of this, Master Fei? Before we showed up?" she asked him, looking at him with serious eyes, gauging his every word. Her teacher exhaled and nodded.

"They had started showing up in our waters for a while now. It was only a matter of time before they'd come here."

ZanYi relaxed, only marginally. "So they're not looking for Syaoran," she concluded, putting her hands on her sides as she tried to work this out. "The NEs and their chi blockers don't know we have the Avatar here on the island. That means it probably won't be a large-scale invasion."

Her gaze beseeched her teacher, silently asking him what they were going to do. But Master Fei shook his head gruffly. "Princess," he started, grave, "you need to get off this island. Take all of them and get out of here."

Syaoran knew that wasn't going to go over well, and he saw the tight lines in ZanYi's face as she gnashed her teeth. Again, they were being told to run, to get out of harm's way. And the Avatar knew, with one look at the lieutenant's face, that she was—again—torn. Despite whatever issues she seemed to have with Master Fei, and regardless of her prolonged absence, this place was close to being home for her. And again, she was being told to leave it all behind.

"Then why don't we stay and fight?"

ZanYi looked to Syaoran in surprise, her brow puckered as if she didn't understand. Syaoran almost couldn't believe it either, that he'd said those words. But he had, and he would not take them back. "They don't know we're here, and if what you're saying is true, ZanYi, then with our team and the White Lotus, we stand a chance." His jade eyes looked at the woman's, deadly serious. "Let us stand and fight, ZanYi. We can do this."

Tiki gave Syaoran a wide-eyed look as well. They had just been told that their lives were in danger—his especially, if the Neo-Equalists found out he was here—and he wanted to stay and fight? Granted, Tiki had no trouble with fighting, but considering how the last battle they were in turned out—

"Syaoran has a fair point," Shun interrupted Tiki's musings, and she gaped at him next. Ignoring the look she was giving him, the giant waterbender turned to address ZanYi. "If it's true that they have no idea Syaoran's here, then when they come to this island, we could ambush them without too much trouble. Let's give them a taste of their own medicine."

"Shun," Tiki spoke up, her worry displayed on her face. She had been counting on the peace-loving waterbender to back her up in this fight-or-flight debate, but now it seemed that Shun was all for violence. The giant waterbender turned an indulgent grin on the tiny airbender.

"What's the matter, Teeks? We don't have anything to worry about. We have the Avatar on our side, don't we?" he pointed out. Tiki frowned briefly at him for what she considered a cheap shot: if she suggested running now, everything she had ever said to Syaoran about believing in his potential as the Avatar was all for naught. She glanced up at Syaoran, witnessing the resolve in his gaze. Tiki was able to draw strength from the simple fact that the Avatar was breathing. With a deep breath of her own, the tiny airbender finally nodded.

"Okay, I'm in," she decided, the worry melting away in her eyes to be replaced with determination. "Let's kick some Neo-Equalist butt."

"No. Absolutely not," Master Fei said, fixing the lot with a scary look. "You all will leave this island and not look back." The elder focused in on ZanYi next, breathing as evenly as he could, as he went on, "Enough of your family has been lost, Princess, and I will not allow any more of them to be."

ZanYi stared back at him silently, knowing where his concern was stemming from. It was enough to tighten every muscle in her body. And while she did not prefer his logic, she was still not sure what to do.

"ZanYi," Syaoran beckoned for her attention, which she did give him with an eye. "We can do this. We can protect this island." He rose to his feet, staring over the table at ZanYi, now at her eye-level. Indeed, Syaoran leveled that jade stare right into her eyes, which normally had him anxious. "You promised you wouldn't let anything happen to me, right? And there is no place I trust you more than on the battlefront," he admitted, completely serious. "So, for once, let's stay and fight. I know you don't want to leave them."

He could see the words coming together inside her, the gears clicking as she tried to process all of the options presented to her. It was with great reluctance and relief that she let the corner of her lip lift. "Master Fei," she started, her gaze never leaving Syaoran's, "we're not going anywhere."

Shun nodded, both in agreement of Syaoran's words and ZanYi's decision.

"We can't always run away," the giant waterbender said, getting to his feet as well. "If all we did was run, if we were ever caught with our backs to the wall, we'd be in serious trouble."

"Let us fight, Master Fei," Tiki pleaded, moving around the table to stand next to Shun, her eyes large as she entreated the firebending elder. "We can help you. I know you're worried, but you don't have to be. ZanYi is the toughest soldier I've ever met, and she'll find a way to get us all through this in one piece. She learned from the best, after all."

Shun smiled and patted the tiny airbender's head. He could not have said it better himself.

Master Fei looked at the group of benders, looked at the determination and fire in each of their eyes. And then he only looked at ZanYi's, the ones that stared back at him the hardest, with the most demand. Twas those eyes he knew the best, knew for their entire life. Master Fei knew the flames that sparked within them, which is how he knew that ZanYi was not going to let this go now.

"Fine," he resigned with great reluctance and hesitation, "you stay and fight with us."

ZanYi breathed a little easier and expressed her gratitude in her gaze. Her teacher received the message loud and clear and he grunted a little. To say the least, he was not happy with the decision, but he had made it to the best of his ability. "I am going to speak with the rest of the Order here on the island. We will have a meeting later to discuss how to go about this."

Nodding to the messenger the White Lotus had sent, the two swiftly exited the dining room, moving quickly. However, tension was left in their wake. ZanYi took a deep breath and settled herself, as if she were going into battle. She looked to each of her companions, stiff. "You realize this is going to be dangerous. The Order will be fighting alongside us, but there are no AKs here, no military. This won't be the same as Omashu."

"Got it," Syaoran answered, walking around the table to join the rest of them. "But we're going to fight and we're going to win." He was speaking with every ounce of strength he had in him. He couldn't just run again, could he? At some point, they had to take a stand and fight back. This was where he was going to start. If he was going to have faith in himself as the Avatar, he had to prove it to himself.

Or at least try.

His jade eyes looked to ZanYi again silently. Syaoran also couldn't make the lieutenant run away again. She'd already left her troop, her base, and her brother to keep them safe. This was a sanctuary to ZanYi, and Syaoran was tired of putting her between a rock and a hard place.

Nodding, ZanYi glanced around at each of them again, this time a bit less harsh. "Thank-you. All of you." The admission took something out of her pride, but it had to be said. The lieutenant pursed her lips again and turned to leave the room, with a few more parting words. "We'll reconvene on the beach in twenty minutes to train and practice the rest of the day."

Before she passed Syaoran, she looked at him again, regarding him seriously. Slowly, she reached up a hand and placed it tight on his shoulder. "Thank-you, Syaoran," she uttered to him. Then, quickly, the woman kept on going, leaving the dining hall to prepare for the intense training they were about to begin. Shun watched her go, an unfamiliar feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. The way the lieutenant had singled out Syaoran was only fair: he had been the first to assert that they stay and fight for the island. It was only natural that she would be the most grateful to him. So then, why was Shun feeling strange about it…?

The giant waterbender shook his head. They did not have time for this; he would save the self-reflections for later. "I'm heading out," he announced. He reached the top of the stairs before he realized no one was following him. "You coming?" he asked the other two with a curious look.

"In a minute," Tiki replied, who was giving Syaoran a strange look. Shun didn't know what to make of it, so he just shrugged and went about his business. Apparently, whatever Tiki had to say was supposed to be between her and the Avatar.

Once they were alone, Tiki fixed Syaoran with one of her serious stares. "Syaoran. I want to ask you for a favor," she stated, getting right to the point. Tiki was not sure why, but she sensed something big was about to happen. Whether it was a 'good' big or a 'bad' big remained to be seen.

Syaoran looked back at Tiki, as if just noticing she was there. Despite the gravity of the situation, he could not help but feel a little lighter now, seeing as how ZanYi had not only singled him out, but also reached out to him, and of her own volition. The circumstances were not good, but Syaoran was already in the habit of holding onto whatever he could. So, when he turned to Tiki, he brought his head back out of its momentary clouds and gauged the expression she wore. It was serious, and it was grave, and Syaoran wasn't sure what to make of that.

"Sure," he agreed slowly, weighing her with his eyes, "What is it?"

Tiki seemed to compose herself, struggling with the words before she spoke them. "I can't explain it… but I feel it. Something's going to happen, and it's going to be a big deal," she stated, not bothering to sugarcoat anything. "What I don't know is whether it's going to help or hurt us."

It was like the island itself was trying to warn Tiki; the chi of the place was giving off such a strange vibe that it made her hair stand on end. Something was definitely going to happen, and it made the tiny airbender worry. If only she could know whether or not her fear was warranted…

Tiki looked up, meeting Syaoran's gaze once more. "Syaoran, if what I'm feeling turns out to be very bad for us… if things go wrong… I want you to get away as fast as you can." An unprecedented favor, but this was serious. Tiki's hunches were never wrong, so if she sensed something was about to happen, then it was going to happen, whether she liked it or not. The hardest part would be convincing Syaoran to agree to this favor. "I know you don't want to run away," Tiki continued, knowing that the Avatar would argue, "but if the rest of us fall, you have to save yourself. You are the Avatar." She placed a hand over his heart once more, the drumming beat under her fingers strong. "You cannot die."

And Tiki was right: Syaoran didn't want to run away. He wanted to finally try and take a stand, to take matters into his own hands and stop hiding behind the rest of them. Syaoran was the _Avatar_, right? Shouldn't he be doing more?

But at the same time, he was _the_ Avatar. Which meant that if he died out there, so would their hope of the Avatar helping end this war. Another would be born, but it would be years before he or she would be of any use—and that's if the Neo-Equalists didn't start capturing firebenders next and finish off the Avatar early.

"Tiki," Syaoran started, but he didn't know how he was going to answer. He had one duty thrust upon him: he had a duty to the benders in this war. But where he wanted to be was fighting alongside this team, to be there for them and protect them for once. Tiki. Shun. ZanYi…

Brushing off the hand that was pressed against his heart, Syaoran looked down at the airbender, frowning. "Tiki," he tried again, "I will do what I have to out there, but I'm not going to leave you guys if I can help it. No way!" The Avatar stepped away from her, starting towards the stairs. "Now, let's go. We've got to start getting ready for this thing."

Tiki sighed, following Syaoran. She supposed that was the best answer she was going to get, but it still made her unhappy. Would it kill him to take her seriously every once in a while?

'_He'd probably take the favor seriously if it was ZanYi asking…'_ the tiny airbender thought bitterly, and then rolled her eyes. Boys. They were impossible. But she had to believe that things would be okay, that Syaoran would survive even if the rest of them did not. They had fought the Neo-Equalists before, but that did not make it any easier. Tiki had been running from them for years, but everything was different now: she had friends to worry about as well. She could understand perfectly Syaoran's desire to want to step up. But their positions were very different in very many ways.

And Tiki could only hope that the strange feeling she was getting was a sign of salvation rather than destruction.

* * *

**A/N from DJ: I'm so sorry! So, here's the thing: it may come as a surprise... but I have a life. Offline. It's a bizarre concept, but we're going to roll with it. Anyway, it attacked me last week and I could not get the editing done before Friday. I tried this weekend, but I went to visit family to celebrate Easter-Happy Belated Easter, everyone!-and just couldn't work on it. So, that brings us to today, where I got a chance to sit down and finally finish editing this chapter! I'm sorry it's late!**

**Now, on the other hand... The love: where did it go?! So, because of my slowness, I know we've prompted at least one reader to worry-sorry!-and therefore got a review. But what's weird is the lack of reviews but the DOUBLING of readers! Yes, you read that right. Hit counts have blown up and we're so happy for all of our readers, old and new! We feel so honored by this, but also so saddened, because Eva and I really want to hear what you guys think, like, anticipate. We want to interact with you! Don't be shy, just be honest! Now, to our formal acknowledgment:  
**

**Guest: I'm so sorry that you were afraid that we'd killed the project. I try to get the editing done promptly and I flubbed last week xP Never fear, for we are not dying off... but we are ending soon.**

**That's right, guys: Fire is nearing its conclusion. It's the shortest of the series, but it's provided you a basis for everything to come later on! So, you'll just have to watch out for the new chapters and Air! Also, we do have a short one-shot coming up on the horizon, as we will do from time to time to give more background on events in character's lives. **

**Phew! That was a whole mouth-full xP Still, hope you enjoyed, hope you understand, and hope to hear from you soon!**


	19. The Understanding

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire**

**By Twins of the Pen**

**Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

* * *

"Syaoran," ZanYi called out, startling the earthbender. Night had long since fallen, and the chances of battle upon the sunrise were high and so, of course, were tensions. Stepping out into the courtyard from the hall, the lieutenant joined Syaoran in the moonlight and clean spring air. "Fix your left hand," she told him, "It's dropping."

The earthbender looked down to find his left hand had dropped too low, just as ZanYi had noted. He corrected it quickly and followed through with the movements he was doing.

The past few days had been filled with meals, strategy, and practice, practice, practice. What he should be doing was sleeping—and that's what he would always rather be doing—but instead he was practicing his firebending forms again, as if he didn't get enough of that during the day. He did suppose that it was all helping. When it came to forms, he was keeping pace with the lieutenant, many of the times in sync as well. It was certainly a confidence booster going into the following day, into the possible attack.

"What are you doing up, ZanYi?" he asked her, ceasing for the moment.

"I was talking with Sifu about some last minute details," she answered, frowning a little. It was more a talk of why, again, the team should not be fighting, and how to best escape the island if they needed to. ZanYi understood his worry, but still did not want to back down. Hence the rather heated discussion she had just escaped from. Focusing back on the Avatar, ZanYi mimicked back, "You?"

"Wasn't ready to go to bed yet," Syaoran told her. It wasn't that he couldn't sleep—Syaoran Wong could always sleep. It was the feeling that dragging out the day would make the next one not come. He knew he was making himself tired, but Syaoran just didn't want to go, didn't want the coming day to arrive, with all of the trouble it may or may not bring.

ZanYi nodded, understanding the feeling. "Well, just make sure you go to sleep soon. And check on Tiki before you go to bed, make sure she's ready for the morning," the lieutenant ordered with a small nod.

Turning on her heel she proceeded to reenter the hall, only to be called out. "ZanYi!" Syaoran beckoned, and the woman looked at him once more, her only response an expectant expression. Awkwardly, he didn't know what he wanted to say to the woman. She had been all business the past couple days, and she had to be running low. They all had a huge fight coming on the horizon, and all he could think about was ZanYi. "Um, be careful tomorrow," the earthbender ended up wishing her.

The lieutenant rewarded him with a smirk. "You too," she returned, before heading back to her room. Closing the door, she glanced around her, feeling reminiscent of all the nights she'd spent there. Some were happy, most were not. But never did she feel like she was endangered there like ZanYi did in that moment.

Unable to sleep herself, the lieutenant propped herself up in her window, looking out on the still waters. Soon those waters, and that familiar black beach, might be filled with fighting, with cries of war. It had finally touched a place so untouchable to her, and all she could do was be thankful she's here for it while hoping it wouldn't happen.

* * *

Out on the beach, Tiki was having another sparring session with Shun, this time at her own demand. The two were still going strong, though they had been at it for little over an hour. Currently, the tiny airbender was running swift circles around Shun, causing a tornado to spring up where he stood. Before he could get lifted into the air, however, the giant waterbender used his water-shackle trick to slow down Tiki's momentum.

While it worked, it was not in a way Shun expected: Tiki tripped and did a face-plant in the sand. Her cyclone disappeared, but she did not move. Worried, Shun rushed over to his fallen comrade's side.

"Tiki, are you okay—!"

What Shun failed to realize was that Tiki was playing opossum. As soon as he got close enough, the tiny airbender whirled her legs around, sweeping his legs out from under him. Too shocked to save himself, the giant waterbender fell to the beach with a loud thump. It was a good thing that the sand gave way easier than solid ground, or Shun probably would have been in trouble. He stared up at the starry sky before Tiki's face intruded into his vision, smirking with a feline curl.

"You keep underestimating me, Shun. Don't do that," she advised. Shun could not help but smile up at her.

"Yeah, you got me. You win, okay?" he conceded, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head. He could feel a lot of sand clinging to his hair, and noted that he would probably have difficulty washing that out later. "We should get some sleep," Shun went on, "Tomorrow's a big day."

Tiki nodded, growing somber at the topic. Tomorrow was a big day indeed. Days later, her funny feeling that something was about to happen had only grown stronger, and the tiny airbender felt as if she would burst if she had to go on much longer with such a feeling being harbored in her chest. She wished she could confide in someone who would understand, but ever since her journey with the Avatar started, she had yet to run into another airbender… oh, how she wished she could see her parents…

"I'm gonna go inside," she announced, half-expecting Shun to follow her. But his eyes were trained on the waves, his back to her. "Don't make your swim too long, okay?" she told him before leaving the beach. It had become a nightly thing for Shun to take a swim after they finished sparring, so Tiki supposed she would be surprised if he did not keep up his tradition, even if it was the eve of the biggest fight they had yet to face.

As she passed the courtyard, Tiki spied a familiar face. Looks like she and Shun weren't the only ones squeezing in a late-night practice. Syaoran stayed focused on his movements, unaware of Tiki's presence. So the airbender settled down to watch him in silence, marveling at how much the Avatar had improved his firebending—he looked like a pro now. Tiki smiled at the thought: one element down, two more to go. And the next element would be her responsibility to teach.

Briefly, Tiki wondered if she was the best choice for an airbending teacher. Sure, she was directly descended from Avatar Aang, but so were all the other airbenders nowadays. Tiki could trace every single one of them through the family tree, if she were of mind to. Surely there was another that was more qualified to teach Syaoran…

But, for right now, Tiki was the best Syaoran had. The tiny airbender nodded to herself. She would teach Syaoran, as long as he wanted her to teach him. They would cross that bridge when they got to it, in any case. More important things needed their attention at the moment.

When Syaoran turned in his forms, he was surprised to find Tiki seated on the steps. Yelping a little, he stopped, staring at her. "Tiki," he said in his shock, concentration broken sufficiently, "how long have you been sitting there?" He had not even heard the airbender join his company, and considering how loud Tiki was, this was not comforting realization. Syaoran was a bundle of nerves as the possibility and probability of combat loomed, ever present. Walking over to Tiki with a quirked brow, the Avatar asked, "What's up?"

Tiki shrugged. "Nothing," she replied, idly swinging her legs. "I was just watching. You've gotten really good, you know." The tiny airbender turned a smile onto Syaoran. "Pretty soon you'll be able to start conquering air." Tiki gave a flick of her fingers, the tiny movement rustling the leaves across the courtyard. Still grinning, Tiki continued, "It'll be really useful."

"Sure it will," Syaoran indulged, a bit sarcastic. While it would certainly make cleaning the yard easier, it was not quite what he thought of to be useful. Earth—useful. Fire—useful. Air?

He couldn't quite imagine how that would be helpful in a fight—unless he wanted to fly. That could be helpful.

"I guess that means after all this, ZanYi will go back to special forces, since I won't need a firebending teacher anymore," he mused aloud, the words becoming a realization. Suddenly he was not quite as satisfied with his progress with fire, but Syaoran knew that was idiotic of him. And then he figured out something possibly worse. "Wait… that would mean you'll be my next teacher, wouldn't it?"

Tiki frowned. While she did not exactly appreciate what Syaoran was implying, she had to admit that his worry was not exactly unwarranted. Sure, she had some experience with teaching, but it had been years, and Syaoran was an earthbender by birth—he was going to have some trouble with airbending.

"Well, I can try," Tiki said slowly, "but honestly, if you wanted to find someone else, I wouldn't be offended. I might even know a couple cousins who could be interested."  
Tiki was vaguely aware of the fact that this could reduce her usefulness to Team Avatar, but if it helped Syaoran, she did not mind. She wanted to see him grow into the Avatar, so she would definitely stick around for that, no matter what.

Syaoran, however, wasn't sure what to do with that suggestion. He hadn't even considered the option of having a different airbending teacher. There wasn't exactly an abundance of airbenders in the world, and he was certain they were probably scattered about. But being taught by Tiki? What made the lieutenant a great teacher was her command, knowing her craft and how to improve it. Tiki, however, was an airhead as well as an airbender. How she would manage to teach him anything, he wasn't sure.

"Well, if you know anything, it's air," he noted aloud, well aware of the double meaning of his words. But he looked at Tiki and then sighed a little as he dropped to sit down next to her on the steps. "It'll be a change of pace, but we'll see how it goes with you, Tiki. I mean, I know you, at least. That counts for something, I think."

Despite it not sounding exactly like a compliment, Tiki still flushed with pleasure. It still meant a lot, coming from someone like Syaoran.

"Wanna know a secret?" she asked, inching closer to him with a devious look. She never told people this because anyone she did tell never believed it. It was a long shot that Syaoran would believe her as well, but maybe, just maybe, this little fact about her would make him a tad more confident in her teaching abilities. Tiki reached up and cupped a hand around her mouth, whispering into Syaoran's ear. "I was once the master of an airbending dojo."

Syaoran backed quickly to look at her incredulously. "You were a _what_?" he asked with a furrowed brow, jaw growing slack. But the earthbender couldn't help it: something was something wrong with that. The girl couldn't even keep herself under control; how could she have been a master?

"What's the punch line, Tiki?" Syaoran asked next, crossing his arms to look her accusingly.

Tiki allowed herself an indulgent eye-roll. This was the response she typically got. It was ironic that the one time she was not joking, everyone else assumed she was.

"I'm telling the truth," she insisted, mimicking Syaoran's posture. "I had a dojo back at my aunt's place where the Southern Air Temple used to be. I couldn't stay long, but I like to think I made an impact." Eyeing Syaoran's doubtful look, Tiki stood and took a few paces back from him. "Since you seem to have trouble believing me," she began, her kitty grin appearing, "you wanna have a sparring match so I can show you? I kicked Shun's butt once or twice, so you shouldn't be too hard."

She was goading the Avatar, she knew it. But the tiny airbender had a point to prove. Syaoran would, in all actuality, be more difficult than Shun, since he knew two forms of bending instead of just one. Nonetheless, his response to Tiki's secret told her one thing: Syaoran would underestimate her as well. That was the one advantage Tiki could hold over him until the Avatar learned to expect more from her.

Syaoran's gaze swept over Tiki, as if debating whether the airbender was serious or not. It seemed she was, and she was taunting him. He knew that. And he'd heard about her bouts with Shun; Syaoran had never seen one up close though. He was always training with ZanYi or otherwise occupied—meaning, sleeping.

But Shun was a healer, not a fighter. So for Tiki to have kicked his butt, she may as well have tripped him for all Syaoran knew. And she was not going to be like the lieutenant. So that was all the coaxing Syaoran needed.

"You know what? Sure," Syaoran agreed, stepping forward into the moonlight. He flexed a brow. "Want to put any restrictions on me? Only one element?"

Tiki outright grinned, ecstatic that Syaoran was accepting her challenge. "Nope," she replied, her lips popping on the 'p'. "Come at me with everything you've got, and I'll show you why they refer to me as 'Sifu Tiki' back in the south."

The tiny airbender did a series of backflips to the opposite side of the courtyard. It was here where she struck her defensive pose, one hand beckoning to the Avatar. "I'm waiting," she taunted, her grin still huge. Whatever the outcome of this match, Tiki was sure it was bound to be interesting.

Syaoran shrugged a bit and took a deep breath. "Have it your way, then," he warned Tiki. And since he already had been practicing, fire came out faster than the earth. The Avatar blasted a few balls of fire at her, rushing forward to launch a whirling kick at the small airbender.

And Tiki was ready for him.

Syaoran was already aware of this, but as ZanYi was teaching him firebending, Tiki had watched nearly every practice session. So as she watched, the tiny airbender began to notice that there was a certain pattern to Syaoran's attacks. This pattern could not be relied on all the time—as he and ZanYi were sparring, the Avatar had to come up with different avenues of attack when she learned when and how to block him—but since he was now sparring with Tiki, it was safe to assume that he was letting his guard down by a significant amount.

Smirking, Tiki was able to evade the attacks—mostly. Her hair got singed by the fireballs she just barely managed to squeeze by, but nothing too bad. She slid under the kick Syaoran aimed at her and popped up just in time to blow playfully on his ear from behind. With another backflip, the tiny airbender had a perfect shot of the Avatar's exposed back. So, with a thrust of an outstretched hand, Tiki took it.

And that gust blew him forward, head over heels. But as he flew, Syaoran raised a slab of rock and used it to land and shove off of quickly, lunging back towards her. He raised a wall behind Tiki, attempting to hold her in place. Using his flying momentum, his fists grew heavy with fire as he rained it down on her, catching himself on the top of the wall.

Dropping squarely on the ground, Syaoran raised more earth around where Tiki was, trapping the heat. If he knew Tiki like he thought he did, she would do her best to avoid the flames. She was sneaky. So, trapping her was his best option.

'_Yikes!_' Tiki thought, yelping as earth and fire surrounded her, the flames lapping at her clothes and exposed skin. She had to admit, that was a smart move. Her bending required a lot of movement, and if that was taken away, she was in trouble.

Luckily for Tiki, she had been in tighter spots than this. With a calming breath, the tiny airbender jumped towards one of the walls, using her momentum to bounce herself between the earthy surfaces. As she steadily made her way up—Syaoran was also smart to make these walls really tall—Tiki reached out with her senses, attempting to locate the Avatar. As she pinpointed his location, she reached the top of one of the walls, looking directly down at Syaoran. Still grinning, she carelessly jumped off the top of the wall, feet first, to land on the Avatar's shoulders. Tiki pushed off from there, arcing gracefully before landing again, spinning around to face Syaoran with her grin.

"What else ya got?" she challenged, sinking into a low crouch with her hands held at the ready. She was actually having fun with this: while sparring with Shun had been entertaining in its own right, Tiki was certain that the giant waterbender had gone easy on her once or twice. Syaoran, on the other hand, was not pulling any punches. Tiki appreciated this, because it meant the Avatar, on some level, was taking her seriously.

And if there was anything Tiki was constantly serious about, it was her bending.

Syaoran frowned at her. While thankful she wasn't harmed, he was not pleased that she had escaped… and then made a mockery of him by using him in her movements. "I've got more than that," he responded, sinking low. He raised a series of three walls around the airbender, taking great care to roof her this time.

Swiftly, he used his earthbending to thrust forward the earth beneath him, pushing him airborne towards Tiki at a great speed. He kicked at Tiki, followed by a barrage of fiery punches. Syaoran was not going to allow himself to fall prey to Tiki, of all people. It was a spar, but there was a bit of his pride at risk here—at least, in his mind.

Now that she was ready for the walls, Tiki was not alarmed when they sprang up. And now that Syaoran was coming at her fast, hands blazing, her dodging game had gotten a little more difficult. But, then again, that was because she had her eyes open. So she closed them.

Once she did that, things became a little easier without the sensory overload. She dodged his kick at the last minute, but left herself vulnerable to the first of his punches, which grazed and seared her cheek. No matter, though: Tiki let herself fall with the momentum of his punch, swerving out of the way at the last minute to avoid the rest of the barrage. Moving backwards, her eyes still closed, the tiny airbender weaved her way through the walls, almost finding this too easy. She had loved this exercise as a kid, only back then she had spinning boards she had to weave through without getting smacked instead of stationary walls. "Be like the leaf!" was the key mantra in that exercise. So now Tiki was a leaf, feeling her way around gaps in the wall to avoid Syaoran's attacks.

What she did not anticipate, however, was a harmless rock in her path that she could have avoided… had her eyes been open. But since they were not, the unfortunate airbender stumbled over the rock. Eyes flying open in shock, Tiki twisted to absorb the fall with her hands. Bad move; her ankle twisted the wrong way, and as she hit the ground, Tiki hissed in pain.

"Ow," she whimpered, drawing the injured ankle into the shelter of her arms, biting her lip as tears began to gather at the corner of her eyes. She kept forgetting the most important part of engaging in risky behavior: always expect the unexpected, or you'd get a twisted ankle.

Syaoran stopped as he saw Tiki stumble, eyes widening as she went down. Normally he would think it a ploy, but considering the tears that pricked at her eyes, the Avatar knew this was no joke.

Tearing down the walls he had risen, Syaoran quickly moved over to Tiki's side, kneeling next to her as she clutched her ankle. "You okay, Tiki?" he asked, jade eyes scanning her for wounds. There were not really any to the naked eye, but the way she was holding her ankle suggested otherwise.

"Is your ankle okay?" he asked her, mind flurrying through a million thoughts. They were about to be attacked at any time, most likely, and now Tiki was hurt over their stupid game of pride. Syaoran was fairly irked with himself. This was not going to be good for them.

'_Aw man.'_ Syaoran had just ruined Tiki's fun with that concerned expression on his face. "I'm fine," the tiny airbender sighed, releasing her leg. She rolled her ankle a couple times, demonstrating to Syaoran that it was all right. It stung a little, yes, but it probably wasn't a big deal. She could get Shun to fix her up later. Tiki glanced up at Syaoran, her expression a cross between devious and sheepish. "You and Shun have the same weakness," she informed the Avatar. "Both of you let your guard down when you thought I was hurt, underestimating me. As soon as you got near enough, I was going to trip you up and pin you." she sighed again, leaning back on her hands to gaze up at the starry sky. "But when I saw you looking all worried, I decided I couldn't do it." Tiki turned her gaze onto Syaoran, smiling kindly. "You must be having a positive influence on me," she accused with a laugh.

It was strange—usually Tiki had no qualms about carrying on a plan of action, even if it was executed by treachery. But somehow, she just couldn't bring herself to do that to Syaoran. It seemed wrong to do that to him. He was different.

Syaoran gaped at her a little, then his face soured. It would have been horrible if she'd actually been hurt by their impromptu match, especially this close to battle. So the fact that the airbender was fine was indeed good news. However, her flippant attitude was aggravating. "Seriously? You shouldn't be tricking us like that!" he lectured her, eyes frowning as much as his face. "Take advantage of enemies all you want, but when we're actually concerned about you because we want all of us to make it out alive, cut it out."

Rising to his feet, he dragged Tiki up to hers none too gently. And Syaoran was going to proceed to lecture her when another voice beat him to the chase.

"Just what exactly is going on here?" Master Fei's voice growled through the courtyard. When Syaoran turned to face the firebender, he knew they were sunk. The elder's face was contorted in disapproval. Syaoran opened his mouth to try and explain, but he held up a hand, silencing him effectively. "Don't bother. Just gather your wits about you and come. You should be in bed, resting for tomorrow, not brawling about in my courtyard."

If Syaoran ever felt like a child, this was one of those moments. He was certainly starting to understand where the lieutenant got that ability from. Giving Tiki an irritated and agitated look, he proceeded to cross the courtyard to Master Fei. He silently followed as the firebender walked them to their hall, as if trying to ensure that they arrived and went to bed.

Tiki frowned, following after Syaoran.

"Why are you even mad?" she muttered, confused, "I didn't end up doing it."

Indeed, she had even explained to the Avatar that she was just faking it, rather than letting him find out the hard way. Why was he all huffy all of a sudden? She just did not get him sometimes.

And Syaoran didn't answer, more because of Master Fei's presence than anything else. After all, there was no need to incur the man's wrath further by bickering with Tiki.

Still, the earthbender just hoped she wouldn't attempt to pull such a stunt again. That was fine in dire situations, but here, she was with people that wanted to keep her alive. Her little prank wasn't harmless.

It discounted any part of him and Shun that actually cared about her.

* * *

Shun had his feet in the water, the waves lapping at the cuffs of his jeans. But he did not feel like swimming tonight. Swimming was a calming ritual to him, and all the giant waterbender wanted to do was run far, far away. He could not believe they were facing such a threat already. It seemed like only yesterday they had arrived on the island and met the eccentric Master Fei. It would be a shame to have to leave after such a short time in a place they felt so safe in.

With a sigh, Shun turned his back on the ocean, intending to head back inside. A light from a nearby window up at the house distracted him, however, and Shun looked over to find ZanYi there, her eyes closed and so still she could have been sleeping. Shun hesitated, knowing that he needed sleep and that it was probably not a good idea for him to go startle the lieutenant.

And yet…

"Hey," Shun called once he was close enough to ZanYi's window to be heard. He rested his folded arms on the windowsill, peering at the lieutenant curiously. "Something wrong?"

ZanYi had opened her eyes as Shun walked over. When he rested on her ledge, she forced back her thoughts, keeping them closed and quiet. "Don't worry about it," the lieutenant brushed him off, dismissive. Straightening up, she put on a smirk as she looked down at him. "So, I suppose this is how you feel all the time, up in the clouds?" she supposed, denying the topic at hand.

Shun smirked. "Something like that, yeah," he agreed. He noticed her change of subject, taking the hint and continuing the idle chatter. Shun inspected ZanYi's face as he spoke. She looked tired and tense, the expression worn by every member of the Order of the White Lotus as well. The lieutenant looked like she was in desperate need of a distraction right now. The only problem was that Shun was not sure what to say to take her mind off things, especially when the invasion was in a few, short hours. The giant waterbender supposed all he could do was keep her talking to keep her occupied, just for a little while.

"I wouldn't mind being a little shorter, though being tall does have its uses. For example, I know before anyone else when it starts raining."

He managed to get a snort out of the lieutenant. "Not soon enough to stop the rest of us from getting wet," she retorted, her lip quirking a bit. ZanYi took a breath, but it came out a somber sigh. Despite the ease at which she normally conversed with Shun, ZanYi couldn't focus. Her mind was everywhere, all over the place.

There was the battle to consider, protecting the Avatar to consider. There was the fact that she was about to lose the closest thing she had to home if they lost. There was the fact that if something happened, her brother would never know—not that she even knew how he was anyway. In some ways, this was harder than going into combat. She wasn't leading a group of specially and personally trained firebenders. She wasn't trying to complete just any mission. This was all hitting a bit closer and a bit harder.

ZanYi didn't like, nor appreciate, that.

"Hey, I do my best," Shun defended, but he could tell ZanYi's attention was elsewhere. The crease formed in the middle of her brows said as much. He could only guess where her mind was, but his guesses were usually pretty good. "You're worried." It wasn't a question. Shun almost reached up to smooth the crease in her between her brows, but that would mean he had to touch her, something that seemed like a bad idea. The safest thing to do right now was talk to her… if Shun was careful with his words. "This is probably a stupid question, but do you want to talk about it? It might help."

ZanYi looked at Shun as if he had gone mad. "Talk about what?" she inquired, raising her eyebrow at him. Yes, she was concerned. But if that was showing, the lieutenant was not exactly pleased with herself. "I'm fine, Shun," she almost growled, as if she were exasperated by the question.

However, it seemed that ZanYi missed her tell. Her hand had gone up to toy with her dangling dogtags, as if the cool metal was enough to calm her.

While the lieutenant seemed unaware of it, Shun did notice.

"You're never 'fine' when you're fiddling with your dogtags," Shun challenged, raising an eyebrow at ZanYi. But, considering her tone, he assumed now was probably a good time to back off. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine," he conceded, "I just want you to know that I'm here for you. You don't have to suffer alone, despite what you may think."

ZanYi was always a stand-alone woman, unwilling to lean on anyone else. While he knew that he would never be considered a pillar of strength, Shun would like to offer what support he could to the lieutenant.

Said woman looked down at her dogtags and found her hand wrapped around it. Dropping it immediately, ZanYi gave Shun a sharp look. The lieutenant had to control her even breaths. At first, she didn't know what to say, how to respond to the man. For a peacemaker, he certainly knew how to cause strife. But she settled with a disbelieving shake and an accusatory smirk as she leaned her head back against the wooden frame. Her eyes were fixed on his, truthful and wistful, as her voice was soft. "We both know you aren't always going to be here. So let me do this my way, Shun."

ZanYi's words struck Shun in a way he did not expect. It took him a moment to realize what this weird feeling was: ZanYi had managed to make him feel insulted.

"Excuse me," he began in a tone that was very un-Shun-like, pushing himself up to sit on the edge of the windowsill ZanYi was not occupying, his forearm resting on the frame above ZanYi's head as he leaned down, his eyes boring into hers. "But do you not remember how I promised I would have your back, no matter what? I don't recall putting an expiration date on that promise, nor will I ever. So please don't ever insinuate that I would abandon you."

Really, Shun was stung. Did ZanYi doubt that he meant every word he had ever said to her? Did she doubt he would not do everything in his power to keep her safe? Did he ever give her a reason to assume he would not be right there when she needed him, and even when she did not? The giant waterbender could not wrap his head around it. Where, exactly, was this accusation coming from?

"Shun," ZanYi puzzled, surprised by his actions. He seemed to have taken great offense to her words, and have taken them completely the wrong way. It was almost an intimidating sight, having Shun leaning over her like that. Almost. He was going to have to do a lot more than that to intimidate the lieutenant. "I don't think you're going to _abandon_ me, Shun," ZanYi told him, daring to stare up at the deep blue eyes that bore down on her own, "but I do think you've forgotten something very important." The lieutenant straightened further, bringing her gaze closer to Shun's, more level. "I am going back to the military," she reminded him, putting emphasis and weight on each word as she enunciated slowly.

Syaoran wasn't going to need her much longer. His firebending had reached a point where he was comparable to a natural-born firebender, which meant she had done her job, completed her mission. ZanYi would return to her own life.

"When Syaoran's done with his training, I will go back to take my spot leading the AKs, Shun. My time with you all will be done."

Shun blinked. A second later, his cheeks colored in embarrassment.

So he had gotten it all wrong: ZanYi meant that they would soon be parting ways, not that she did not trust him to uphold his promises. Her duty to the Avatar was pretty much fulfilled, so soon she would be returning to her beloved AKs. Shun knew that, eventually, this day would come. What he did not expect was to be feeling so lonely at the thought.

"…Ah," he managed after a moment, leaning back to give the lieutenant space. His eyes turned to the ocean waves as he thought through his perplexing emotions, a hand rubbing his stubbly chin. "Of course. Sorry, I assumed—well, you know. My bad."

Shun's eyes turned wistful as he continued to think of ZanYi's inevitable return to the military. "That's too bad," he said, barely aware of the words he was speaking, "it was fun getting to know you. It'll be like… losing a dear friend, once you leave." The inevitability of it all struck Shun with an acute pain. It was so strange. The prospect of ZanYi leaving—possibly never to be heard from again—filled him with a sadness he usually associated with the loss of his family. What was happening to him?

ZanYi looked at Shun with a furrowed brow, tilting her head a little. It was natural for him to be a bit embarrassed at his assumption. However, his wistful little tone is what seemed out of place to her. It shouldn't have been a surprise to him. It's not like they needed her to stick around. After Syaoran knew firebending, she was no longer needed, and ZanYi would go back.

"It was nice to meet you all too, I suppose," ZanYi said. She flipped her legs around to stick outside her window, better seated side by side with the waterbender. "But this isn't long-term for me. I'll go back, I'll get new orders, and be put back on the front."

The lieutenant shrugged, in a way a bit sad, but mostly just indifferent. "This is my life, Shun," ZanYi reminded him, looking out at the midnight waters. "I go from city to city, mission to mission, and when I finish one set of orders, I get new ones. I don't stay in one place long, and my time with you three is ending."

Shun shook his head, almost pitying the lieutenant.

"I don't know how you can call that living," he told her. Realizing how his words sounded, he met ZanYi's eyes to explain. "Don't get me wrong, I respect what you do," he assured her, a corner of his mouth lifting, "because you're really good at it. But…"

Shun's gaze returned to the dark ocean, searching for the right words to covey his thoughts.

"Haven't you ever, you know, thought about how you want your life to be? You know, after the war? Do you really want to take orders for the rest of your life?"

Shun glanced back at ZanYi, searching her face. "Do you really want to do this… forever?" he asked quietly. He knew that many lived their lives in service to the military, even in times of peace. But, somehow, he had a hard time picturing an older ZanYi, still taking orders and still pledging her life to the service. The giant waterbender could not put his finger on it, but something about that mental image was just… wrong.

ZanYi found herself drawn to look back to Shun, impassive as she stared back at him and reflected on his words. "Do I really look like the kind of woman who likes to take orders for fun?" she asked him, as if verifying that he knew that much. But it was almost impossible for her to grasp just how both him and Master Fei managed to get on this topic so recently. The lieutenant looked away for a moment, taking her time with her answers, mulling it over with the lull of the ocean waves.

"Right now, there is nothing else. This war has ravaged our world and destroyed it, taking so many lives with it. Unless this war ends, there won't be an 'after'," she tried to explain, eyes growing serious. ZanYi turned to Shun again, her brow puckered softly. "I just can't afford to think about anything else right now, because it won't change a thing."

Shun's gaze intensified. He felt as if he had just understood something.

"So you try not to think about it because you don't want to get your hopes up," he paraphrased. To him, ZanYi's explanation sounded a little like an excuse. True, there was no guarantee that the war would end in their lifetime, but the lieutenant made it sound like all there would be to life, until the war ended, was blood, sweat, and tears. Shun preferred to believe that there was a brighter side to every dark period, even if that kind of thinking could be considered naive. Even so, he had to have hope. Some days, it was the only thing he had left.

ZanYi looked at him with a bit of insult. "That's not true," she told him, a little sour, but never breaking her gaze. The lieutenant had plenty of hopes. Most of which, however, revolved on the war ending in her lifetime. "I choose not to think about it because then I'll lose focus on what's happening now, Shun," ZanYi told him, her face growing closer to his as did the fire that was igniting in her to prove him wrong. "I am going to end this war, Shun Jiang. It will end. But I will not allow myself to be distracted by things that can't be a part of my life right now. The stakes are far too high."

Lives were at stake. She saved lives of innocents, and she protected lives entrusted to her. And the lieutenant was not going to allow more lives to be lost than she could help. ZanYi did not want to contribute to the families destroyed if she could help it.

"I've got lives resting on me, Shun. They depend on me to lead them through this and get them back home. I'm not about to let anything get in the way of that."

Shun raised his eyebrows. Apparently, he had touched a nerve with his assumption. He registered the use of his full name with a small amount of amusement, accompanied by a lot of trepidation. He would not put it past ZanYi to shove him out of her window if he continued to irk her.

"I admire you for that, ZanYi," he placated her, smiling slightly. "But I always wonder why you're so determined to do everything yourself. You have comrades for a reason, you know." The giant waterbender tilted his head to the side, observing ZanYi as if she were an interesting television program. "Don't you think you deserve a break once in a while? Doesn't the great Lieutenant ZanYi Tsong deserve to be happy as well?"

Watching ZanYi push herself day in and day out was sometimes painful to watch. Shun could not blame Master Fei for his constant worry over the child prodigy he had watched grow into the woman she was today.

ZanYi stared at Shun with concentrated eyes, unyielding. It was starting to feel more and more like her companion and her teacher had gotten together over tea and decided to hound her over this matter. Neither were ready to just let her forget it and move on.

"When the day comes that I no longer have to keep fighting, then I will find out if there's more out there for me," ZanYi told him evenly. She broke their stare to glance into her room, finding it just as bare and untouched as her place in the barracks. City after city, the lieutenant had seen homes, littered with personal touches and finishings. She had no such things to weigh her down. Or lift her up, she supposed they were trying to tell her.

Turning back to Shun, her face was dangerously close to his, and she did not care. ZanYi's gaze met his again, a deep fire surging. "But until the day comes that I am no longer needed, I will keep fighting. I cannot stop and I will not stop."

ZanYi was so driven, so determined. She was committed to putting every once of fight she possessed into ending a war that had gone on for too long, even if she had to do it single-handedly. There was nothing she was going to let get in the way of her goal.

And, Shun was beginning to realize with dawning horror and embarrassment, that he was attracted to ZanYi for all those reasons. He _did_ like her, way more than he should. The answer was now so obvious that the giant waterbender could have kicked himself for not realizing it sooner.

Shun swiftly turned away from the lieutenant, his face burning. He covered his mouth with a hand as he stared out at the horizon, horror-struck. What had he done? How had he allowed himself to get so close? What was he supposed to do now?

"I'm sorry," the giant waterbender swiftly apologized, meaning it in more ways than one, "but I have to go."

Shun prepared himself to jump out of ZanYi's window himself before common sense reached him through his sudden emotional turmoil, reminding him that there was a door about five feet from him that would enable him to reach his own room faster. The embarrassed waterbender turned to ZanYi, eyeing her uncertainly.

"Um… do you mind…?" he felt he had to ask, pointing at her door without quite meeting her burning eyes. He had an uneasy feeling that she would be able to tell what was wrong with him if he looked into her eyes for too long.

This was bad. This was very, _very_ bad. Tiki was right; she had been right all along. _That_ was why her words had bothered Shun so much: somewhere deep down, he knew they were true. He just was not ready to accept it. Oh, this was too much. Syaoran was going to _hate_ him.

ZanYi was taken aback by Shun's strange behavior and, while frowning, lifted a brow. Just what had gotten into the large man so suddenly? The lieutenant did not understand. However, considering the hour that had arrived, ZanYi did not feel like finding out.

Uncaring, she nodded to Shun and proceeded to turn back into her room. ZanYi climbed back in to give Shun more room to enter and she leaned against one of her tall bedposts. "Go ahead, knock yourself out," she allowed him, gesturing towards her bedroom door before crossing her arms across her chest.

"Thanks," Shun said, relieved. He crammed his long legs through the window and stood up, glancing around the room. He had been wondering what was in here, and was a little disappointed to find that there was not much to look at in here. There was a solitary picture that sat in ZanYi's mirror, but Shun was not close enough to get a good look, nor was he of mind to. He was too focused on getting away.

"Um, good night," the giant waterbender bade, feeling that it would be too rude if he did not say at least this much before speeding to the door. He pulled ZanYi's door shut behind him and leaned against it, rubbing his aching head with a hand.

This was not good. It was the eve of the invasion, and he had just realized his feelings for a woman he had no business having feelings for. The timing could not have been more terrible. It was like unseen forces were at work, wreaking havoc on Shun's life just because they could. How unfair.

A slight cough distracted Shun, and he looked up, momentarily distracted from his inner turmoil to see Master Fei, Tiki, and Syaoran all clustered in the hallway, staring at him. And Shun was acutely aware of how the situation looked, what with him being shirtless and emerging from ZanYi's room at such a late hour.

This was _really_ not good.

Syaoran could only look at Shun, and even that was a struggle to do. His face closed up in a scowl, seeing the man he called a friend coming out of the lieutenant's room scantily clothed. Something had been off the other day, but now Syaoran was starting to feel even more betrayed.

"What are you doing, Shun?" he asked out loud, looking at the waterbender with accusatory eyes. Syaoran's feet remained planted, rooting himself to that spot to keep from physically starting something with Shun.

"I second that notion: just what are you doing?" Master Fei agreed, his aged eyes narrowing in distrust to Shun. He'd seen how the waterbender looked at ZanYi—how the Avatar had been looking at her as well. It was late into the night and Shun was slipping out of his student's room half-naked. The conclusion the elder came up with was unsavory and inexcusable.

However, the door opened behind Shun and ZanYi stepped out, looking only at Shun. "Hey, you forgot this on the ledge," the lieutenant said, handing Shun his shirt. Her golden eyes looked up to find the furious faces of the men in the hall, the shock on Tiki's. "Did I miss the memo? What are all of you doing out here in the hallway?" she asked slowly, choosing her words by the looks she was being given.

Shun could only mutely take the shirt that was offered to him, pulling it over his head. He avoided the accusatory gazes that he received, staring down at the floor. In truth, he felt as if he should stick up for himself; he was certain that whatever Syaoran and Master Fei were imagining was inappropriate and untrue. But the giant waterbender was still reeling from the discovery of his own feelings, which left him quite speechless.

Tiki, for her part, raised her eyebrows at ZanYi. Did the lieutenant seriously not see how this looked? Shun, sneaking out of her room in the middle of the night without a shirt? It was worse that she had to actually come out and return it, proving that it had been off the whole time he was in there with ZanYi. Shun was looking rather villainous right now, and Tiki had no qualms about saying so.

"A better question," she piped up, her shrewd gaze going between the guilty-looking Shun and the oblivious-seeming ZanYi, "is just what were you and Shun doing in _there_?"

Tiki _knew_ she was right. And she was going to get her props even if she had to drag the truth from Shun's unwilling lips.

ZanYi looked with a furrowed brow from Tiki, to a dark Syaoran, to an irritated Master Fei. "What are you talking about?" she asked aloud, gaze sweeping over each of them.

"Just what has the military done to you?" her teacher asked, amazed that this situation was even happening. He'd encouraged her to shoot for her own happiness, but to jump to this already was not bright either. "We have an invasion coming and you decide that now is a good time to test waters?" he judged, the pun unintended, Syaoran was sure. But the Avatar could only look at Shun, despite that the man would not meet his gaze. It made him all the more angry.

ZanYi looked at them, to Shun, and back, growling in frustration. "You all have got to be kidding me," she wondered aloud, putting her hands on her hips. "Shun and I were just talking after he came back from training on the beach. Is there a problem with that?" she explained, a challenge in her voice.

Syaoran, albeit relieved, wanted to accept the challenge and call Shun out on what he felt was a breach of his trust. However, seeing as the lieutenant declared that nothing had happened, there was no need to.

Taking in the shrewd glances around her, ZanYi rolled her eyes. "You all are blowing this out of proportion," she belittled them again. The woman turned a lazy eye to Shun. "Back me up here, Big Guy." Shun groaned inwardly at ZanYi's encouragement to join in the conversation. What he really wanted was to be alone right now so he could _think_. However, damage control was necessary, and everything ZanYi said was true. Shun was obligated to set the record straight, for her if not for himself.

"ZanYi's right," he finally replied, standing tall and making an effort to meet the gazes he was receiving. "We were just talking right after Tiki and I finished sparring. That's it." The giant waterbender was more relieved than he could say that ZanYi had not asked him to assert that they did not feel that way about each other. Denial he could do, but Shun could not be dishonest about his own heart. The others would be able to see the truth on his face anyway; he was a horrible liar.

Tiki frowned as she observed the two. Nothing seemed to have changed between them, though Shun was looking mighty uncomfortable… but maybe that was because they had all accused him out of nowhere. Had she been wrong after all?

"I thought you were going to go swimming," she said to him, watching his reaction. Shun shrugged, managing to calm himself.

"I wasn't planning to tonight. I was about to follow you inside when I saw that ZanYi was still awake. So, we talked." The giant waterbender left it at that, causing Tiki to frown more.

"That's much less interesting," the tiny airbender mumbled to herself, though she looked relieved. Having such a scandal occur the night before they were all supposed to fight off a big threat… no one would be focused on what they were supposed to be doing, and they would all be doomed.

"Oh, yes. Forgive us for not giving you anything more scandalous to work with," ZanYi quipped, a smidge exasperated. "We were just talking. And now I'm going to bed—alone—so I'll be ready to fight tomorrow." The lieutenant gave the group a frustrated nod before slipping back into her room and closing the door.

Syaoran looked from the door to Shun, to and fro again and again. He wasn't sure what to do. It seemed innocent enough, the story. Neither of the two was known to lie, and they had only been talking. Shun just not having a shirt was what made it look bad, right? After all, it wasn't uncommon for him and the lieutenant to talk.

And yet, the Avatar still had a heavy feeling inside him that didn't particularly like the waterbender at that moment. Rather than saying anything that he was certainly going to regret later, Syaoran bid them, "Goodnight." He moved to pass them and go over to the door across from ZanYi's room, entering and closing it with a heavy click.

All the while, Master Fei was surveying the group, torn between relief and disappointment. This certainly was not the time for there to be discourse amongst their small team. At the same time, the elder wasn't sure if he would have been upset if something was going to begin blooming for his pupil.

He just didn't like the supposition that they were getting it on under his roof.

"Well, this has been an interesting turn to the evening," he thought aloud, looking at Shun with an almost knowing smile. He walked over to the behemoth and rested a hand on his shoulder. "I apologize for the accusation, Shun," he told him, only to whisper to the man, "But I'll have you know that the princess strikes first and asks questions later when she's woken, so don't you dare even try to go back in there tonight. I also happen to strike first and ask questions never where she is concerned."

Master Fei pulled back, as if he'd said nothing at all, smiling. Looking from him to Tiki, he said to the two aloud, "Rest well tonight. I'll see you in the morning." And then he just strode away, easily and effortlessly into the flame-lit halls.

Shun stared after the elder firebender, utterly mortified. Had nothing he and ZanYi said convinced Master Fei that there was nothing going on? Or was Master Fei simply warning him not to get any ideas? The giant waterbender was not sure, and the smile Master Fei wore served to confuse him even more.

"Shun," Tiki spoke up, and Shun turned a wary eye on the tiny airbender. The last thing he needed was her on his case as well. But Tiki just smiled sweetly and asked, "Could you take a look at my ankle? I think I twisted it while sparring with Syaoran."

"Uh… sure," Shun answered uncertainly, leading her to his room, which was at the end of the hall. Tiki took a seat on the bed, swinging her uninjured leg as Shun grabbed his canteen. The giant waterbender sat down next to Tiki, and the tiny airbender promptly placed her injured ankle in Shun's lap. As he worked, Tiki watched his expression, her head tilted slightly. He looked frustrated, which was unusual—it was just a twisted ankle. It even took him twice as long to heal her, something that had never happened before. As he finished up and put the water back into his canteen, Tiki felt it was safe enough to speak.

"So, when did you figure it out?"

Shun sighed. He should have known this was the real reason Tiki wanted to be alone with him: to gloat. Of course.

"Tiki," he began, looking and sounding exhausted, "not tonight, okay?"

"But I was right!" the tiny airbender burst out excitedly. "I totally called it, admit it!"

"_Fine_," Shun growled, glaring at Tiki, "you were right. I have feelings for ZanYi. Happy now?"

Tiki opened her mouth, and then paused. She seemed to think about it for a minute before returning her gaze to Shun, now looking worried. "Now that you mention it… no. What are you going to do?"

"Nothing," Shun said with a sigh. He stood up and went to his window, gazing at the face of the volcano, which did not help him not think about ZanYi.

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. I will not betray Syaoran."

"But Shun," Tiki protested, her forehead crinkling, "what are you going to do if ZanYi likes you back?"

"ZanYi doesn't like me," Shun rebuffed, his back to Tiki as he continued to gaze out his window. "Besides, she'll be leaving us soon, now that Syaoran has excelled in his firebending."

Oh, right. Tiki had almost forgotten about that. She continued to peer worriedly at the back of Shun's head, thinking about how messy this whole situation was. It was terrible that both he and Syaoran had fallen for the same woman, especially when said woman was only a temporary part of their group. What were they going to do when ZanYi was reassigned to her Agni-Kais and never saw them again? The tiny airbender puzzled out different possible solutions, but none of them seemed to work without someone's feelings getting hurt.

"Well this sucks," she said after a frustrating minute of no answers and silence.

Shun chuckled; it sounded sadder than his usual mirthful laugh. "Don't fret about it, Teeks. We don't have time to discuss this, anyway. In case you've forgotten, we have an invasion to fight off tomorrow, and for that, we need sleep. I don't know about you, but I am in desperate need of sleep right now."

"All right, I get it," Tiki said, hopping up, "I'll leave you alone now." As she headed to the door, Tiki glanced back to watch Shun sink down onto his bed, his eyes on the floor. He looked dejected, resigned. What did it feel like, Tiki wondered, to realize you cared for someone, only to reach the inevitable conclusion that it would never be? Tiki could not imagine such unhappiness, and yet her heart hurt for Shun. "Good night," she bade him, feeling like that was the only well she could wish him. Any more felt like a betrayal of Syaoran's friendship.

The soft click of the door closing allowed Shun to slump back on his bed, staring at the ceiling instead of the floor. Contrary to the excuse he had given Tiki, the giant waterbender doubted he would be getting any sleep tonight. There was too much going on in his mind at the moment.

Yes, he liked ZanYi. As a man, he was attracted to her. But that was also the way Syaoran felt about her, and the Avatar had voiced his affections first (though not in so many words). In Guy Code, this meant that Syaoran officially had a claim on ZanYi, and that no other self-respecting man could interfere. Not that Shun ever would—he was having a hard enough time coming to terms with his feelings about ZanYi to even consider making a move on her. It all just seemed so wrong.

Tiki's question echoed through the room, as if she were still there, asking the same thing over and over again: _"What are you going to do?"_

Nothing, Shun had replied. He was going to do nothing. But could he really manage that? This was the first time he had felt this way about a woman… how did he know his feelings would not spin beyond his control? Then again, if Shun was unable to keep himself in check, ZanYi would no doubt do it for him—with fists of fire and fury. It was then that Shun remembered that it did not matter how he felt, nor how Syaoran felt: if ZanYi did not return the affections, there was no point in arguing about it. And since she clearly did not specially prefer either of them, Shun was safe. There was no need to tell Syaoran about such feelings either: if ZanYi grew to care about Syaoran as a man, then Shun would stand aside and be happy for them. And if ZanYi did not return Syaoran's feelings, it was still a moot point. But if ZanYi preferred Shun…

The giant waterbender audibly snorted. What was he thinking? The lieutenant could hardly stand him and his big mouth sometimes. Why on earth would she begin to have feelings for him? The notion was ridiculous, and he pushed it out of his mind. So, he cared for ZanYi. That did not mean anything would happen. Things were fine the way they were now, anyway. There was no reason to ruin their friendship, none at all. Not even if Shun grew to love ZanYi.

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**A/N from Eva: DUM DUM DUUUUUUM! Cue dramatic music here! Unfortunately for Shun, things only get more rocky from here on out, both for him and Team Avatar as a whole. Be advised: the close to Book Fire approaches!  
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**We hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! We know it's a little late, and we apologize, but here it is! Thanks as always for reading, and we'd love some feedback from you! Have a good weekend~!**


	20. The Eruption

**Avatar: The Warring Earth**

**Book One—Fire**

**By Twins of the Pen**

**Disclaimer: Avatar in itself belongs to Nickelodeon and Bryan Konietzko/Michael DiMartino. The only things that belong to Twins of the Pen are the original characters.**

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Morning came with the rising sun, a fiery chariot rising over the waters. And afternoon grew hotter still, heat beaming down heavily on the island. The air was tense, just as everyone on the island was at that point. But the eerie part was how still the air was, and the sea did not roll onto the black sand, only lapping gently.

That did not work well with the anxiety everyone felt. White Lotus members were stationed at the tops of the hills, everywhere patrolling. ZanYi stood on the sand, looking out at the water. Still, there was nothing. No ships. No planes. Nothing. And while that should have been a relief, it did not nothing to appease the lieutenant.

"Where are they?" she muttered aloud, eyes scanning the water. Breakfast had come and gone. So had lunch. And still: no sign.

Coming down the side of the volcano, Syaoran jogged to come up beside the lieutenant. "Anything yet?" he asked her, glancing from the woman to the horizon.

"Nothing," she told him, never breaking stare with the water. "Something's not right. No one's seen anything…" Turning to Syaoran, she asked, "Where are Tiki and Shun? Nothing's happening and that means anything can happen."

"Hey!" a voice called from overhead. Through the thick air, Tiki was circling ZanYi and Syaoran from overhead, clinging to her glider. Once she was low enough, the tiny airbender let herself fall to the ground, tying her jacket around her waist for the time being. "There's been nothing on our side, so Shun sent me to see if anything was happening over here."

This was getting stranger and stranger. The longer that all was still, the stronger Tiki's weird feeling from days ago grew. It was so disconcerting that the airbender was almost wishing something would happen already just so her senses wouldn't be so tensed up. Briefly, Tiki's thoughts touched upon Shun, who awaited her return on the other side of the island. He had sent her to ZanYi, saying that she was faster than he would be, but Tiki knew better: he was trying to avoid seeing the lieutenant, but he also wanted to make sure that ZanYi was all right. The giant waterbender thought he was slick, but he wasn't.

And Tiki pitied him all the more for it.

"Apparently we've got nothing over here either," Syaoran told Tiki, looking at her with puckered brow and twisted lip. Nothing was seen or heard on any side of the island, and it was late in the day. ZanYi had already sent him to check with the White Lotus members; they were certain, by the way the Neo-Equalist forces had been traveling, that they would be here today.

And yet, there was nothing. The heat was rising, blistering, and the air around them was really stiff, suffocating.

"This doesn't make any sense…" ZanYi muttered, looking around again. As far as her golden eyes could see, there was nothing to be seen, not even far out. The lieutenant turned to Tiki with a furrowed brow. "Tiki, go back over to your and Shun's side. If you see or hear anything, fly back over and tell us immediately so we can move everyone."

"Roger," Tiki answered, untying her jacket again. She got a running start before kicking off of the sand, calling the wind to her aid as she glided back over to the other side of the island.

Shun waited for her there, knee-deep in the water, ice blue eyes constantly scanning the surface of the ocean. He was to provide water offense against any boat the Neo-Equalists tried anchoring, and if there was any sort of disturbance coming their way, the unnatural ripples in the ocean would tell him so. After she touched down, Tiki ran out into the ocean, but only dared to get her feet wet.

"All clear on their side; everyone's fine," she reported when Shun turned to gaze inquiringly at her. She watched as the giant waterbender let out a breath and nodded.

"Thanks, Tiki," he said gratefully.

"No problem," Tiki replied quietly. Something in her tone made Shun look back at her, and a corner of his mouth turned down.

"Please stop looking at me like that, Teeks," Shun asked, turning his back on the horizon to frown at her. "You don't need to feel sorry for me, okay?"

"I can't help it!" Tiki burst out, looking openly worried. "I've been thinking about this mess since last night! I barely got any sleep!"

"That makes two of us, then," said Shun with a hollow laugh and a shake of his head. "Really, Tiki, this isn't your problem. You don't need to worry about it."

Tiki pouted, lowering her gaze. "I do when two of the only friends I've ever had are in love with the same girl," she mumbled, though loud enough so Shun could hear over the swell of the waves. This caused him to frown for more than one reason. He opened his mouth to tell Tiki again not to worry—and that he was _not_ in love with ZanYi, that he just liked her a little more than he should—when an unusual splash of water hit the back of his knee.

The giant waterbender turned around, his gaze going to a pair of dark goggles strapped to a head covered in dark cloth that had popped up above the water. They stared at each other for a minute, as if they were both dumbfounded by each other's presence. Shun made a sudden movement, but the man in the water was quicker—he chucked something metallic at the beach (Tiki screeched and dove out of the way just in time), in sync with more than a dozen other figures that had appeared out of the water from nowhere. They all vanished under the surface once more, and Shun was about to follow them when a piercing whistling noise sounded behind him.

Whipping around, the giant waterbender was horrified to find that the metallic objects were leaking a thick gas that was wafting around the beach, spreading and overtaking everything, making it difficult to see.

"Tiki!" Shun called, realizing he had lost sight of her. He splashed out of the water, using his shirt to cover his nose and mouth, but the thin cotton was not enough. Shun began to get drowsy, his vision blurring as he staggered through the thick smog, calling for Tiki. But the gas was overwhelming him, making him lose consciousness…

Shun fell to his knees, his vision beginning to tunnel. Those sneaky Neo-Equalists had sprung a surprise attack on them from nowhere, and they were going to be utterly defenseless, taken one by one…

"Shun! Wake up!"

A sharp blow to the giant waterbender's cheek roused him. He opened his eyes, blinking a couple times, to find Tiki staring down at him, her gray eyes becoming relieved once she saw he was awake. A hand went up to Shun's stinging cheek as he stared at Tiki, confused.

"Did you just slap me?"

"I had to wake you up somehow!"

Shun looked around. The smog that had knocked him out was still thick and swirling around them, but there was a strange barrier preventing it from attacking their senses. As Shun sat up, he realized that the barrier was Tiki bending clean air around them, keeping their lungs clear. Shun afforded the airbender a grin.

"What would we do without you, Teeks?"

"Praise me later," Tiki said, the gray hues of her irises turning stormy with worry once again. "We have to get to Syaoran and ZanYi!"

The thought of Syaoran and ZanYi lying on the other side of the island, collapsing from the knock-out gas, sobered Shun at once. Rising to his feet, he gave Tiki a determined nod.

"You're right. Let's go!"

The two took off running, Shun keeping pace with Tiki's shorter legs to avoid leaving the sanctuary of her air bubble. It frustrated him to go at a slower pace, but he knew he would not be much help to anyone if he was unconscious. He just hoped that Syaoran and ZanYi—mostly ZanYi—were all right as well.

On the other side of the beach, they'd heard the pitched whistle, and it was enough to plant ZanYi's feet into the ground, her and Syaoran's heads whipping to the source of the noise. "What's that sound?" Syaoran asked aloud, turning back to ZanYi.

However, by that point he was just a second late. The Avatar turned just in time to see the goggles' glint in the water and the splash before metal hit the beach. "Look out!" he called out, but then the whistle blew and the air around them grew thick and noxious. He tried to search for the lieutenant, but Syaoran couldn't even see a foot in front of him.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed the front of his shirt, holding it up to cover his lips. "Don't breathe the gas," ZanYi told him through her jacket as she held it over her nose. "And don't firebend or it might just blow us all up."

A shadow started to emerge behind her, but this time ZanYi knew what was behind her. The lieutenant whirled a kick at her assailant, the masked figure disappearing back into the smog with a grunt. Syaoran thought he saw another coming towards him, but his vision was starting to blur, his feet a little wobbly. His shirt was nowhere near thick enough to block the gas from seeping into his nose.

ZanYi looked to see Syaoran's woozy state and frowned. Kicking away another assailant, she moved over to Syaoran, taking her jacket and putting it in his grasp before shoving that up to his nose. "Use this and try to move up the volcano, above the gas!" she ordered him, trying not to breathe the air as she did so. "Now! Get help!"

Syaoran knew to act and move quickly, so he did his best to follow her orders without hesitation, running up the side of the volcano to alert the rest of the White Lotus, to get her some help. He just hoped ZanYi could hold out until then.

Rising up above the smog, Syaoran used his earthbending to create a stone shield over the beach, anchoring the gases to stay below. At a new sound, he turned to his right, finding Tiki and Shun starting to make their way over. "Over here!" he called out, finally able to drop the lieutenant's jacket from his nose. "ZanYi's still down there!"

"What?!" Tiki cried, her air bubble long since dispersed ever since she and Shun reached higher ground. Immediately, she turned to Shun. "What do we do?"

Shun's gaze was aimed towards the beach, the smog still thick and potent. And ZanYi was down there somewhere, after sending Syaoran away probably, since he was clutching her jacket. She was all alone, without any defense against the gas. "Tiki," Shun finally said, turning to look at the tiny airbender. She read the request in his eyes, and nodded.

"No problem." Tiki sprinted down a few paces, recalling her air bubble once she had breached the surface of the smog. A thought seemed to stay her, however, for she paused and sent a desperate look to the men above her. "But I can't carry her," she reminded them.

That was a problem. They needed to help fend off the invasion, but could not do so if all of them went to help ZanYi. And Shun was not sure that the lieutenant would awaken so easily from a slap to the face (he cringed at the thought). One of them had to go with Tiki.

But the question was, who would go?

"I'll go," Shun decided after a minute of internal debate. Turning to Syaoran, the giant waterbender reasoned, "If I'm near the beach, I'll be able to fight more effectively than if I'm on top of a volcano. I'll take care of whatever Neo-Equalists I come across while Tiki searches for ZanYi. If she's able, Tiki will bring her back up to the mountain. If she's not…" Shun did not want to imagine the end of that sentence, so he cut himself off with a sharp shake of his head. "You go up to the top and take care of things up there, all right? We'll be up as soon as we can."

Now was not the time to argue over who would rescue ZanYi—if she even needed it. They had been blind-sided, so a lot of damage control was required before they could continue to fight off the invasion. This plan made the most sense to Shun, and he was hoping Syaoran would not disagree with him.

And Syaoran didn't necessarily disagree. He was just hesitant. Looking back down over his ledge, the gases billowed and somewhere in there was the lieutenant, completely unable to firebend and protect her senses because of what she'd done for Syaoran. If anything, he wanted to go back down there with Tiki, to get her out of there.

At a strange hum overhead, the Avatar looked up to the skies, seeing small jets starting to speed from the horizon. To fight those off, someone was going to have to stay up there; only one of them could go down there.

Syaoran looked down to the beach. Despite the smog, he could hear just fine. There was a loud series of splashes and suddenly the clouds lit up in a bright light, crackling. The lightning stretched out across the waters and there were a series of cries. It was enough to lift some weight off his shoulders. ZanYi was hanging in there.

"The water," he told them. "She's in the water!"

Looking to the waterbender, he took a deep breath and nodded to Shun. "Get her out of there, Shun," Syaoran told him, looking his fellow man in the eye. The Avatar nodded to him and Tiki before taking off up the mountain. It was time to start taking out some fighter jets.

As Tiki watched Syaoran go, her fear spiked. Her senses were going crazy, her premonition growing stronger with every second. Would Syaoran be all right by himself?

"Don't forget what you promised me, Avatar!" Tiki called after Syaoran's retreating figure, purposely addressing him by his title to remind him that his duty to the world was greater than his duty to his friends. She set off with Shun hot on her heels, back down to the beach.

"ZanYi!" Shun called, searching for the lieutenant in vain; the gas still lingered, making it impossible to see anything. Shun let out a frustrated growl. "I can't tell if we're close enough to the water or not!"

"Hold your breath," Tiki advised, looking strangely calm. Shun did not understand this direction until a second later, when Tiki dismissed the air bubble. Hastily gulping down his last breath of air, Shun watched and waited as Tiki turned slowly on the spot, her arms arced around her body. She spun again, this time more quickly, getting faster and faster until finally throwing her arms out. Shun almost found himself knocked over from the strong gale Tiki summoned. The smog was pushed away, and the beach became visible. Several figures in black wet suits turned towards them; some had even pulled their masks off to give them shocked looks.

"Why is there an airbender? No one said there would be an airbender!" one of them nearest to Tiki growled to another.

"Too bad for you, then," Tiki shot back, before jumping up and slamming the Neo-Equalist with a spinning kick to the head. "Get to ZanYi!" Tiki cried over her shoulder at Shun, ducking into the fray of swarming Neo-Equalists. Sending a silent vow of thanks to the tiny airbender, Shun wasted no time in heading to the ocean. Hoping fervently that ZanYi was still not shooting lightning through the water currents, the giant waterbender waded as far as he had to before diving in. Tiki had pushed the gas to hover over the ocean, so Shun had to keep his head low to the surface, searching desperately for the lieutenant.

"ZanYi!" he called, craning his neck to search every inch of water around him. "ZanYi, where are you? Answer if you can hear me!"

The lieutenant came up from under the water, gasping for breath. While she did find there was a bit more air to work with for some reason now, that didn't stop her from inhaling a chunk of the smog. She'd been doing her best to control her breathing, but having had to go under to fully shock the soldiers around her, now ZanYi felt like she was gasping for clean air.

"I'm over here, Shun!" she called back, upon hearing his cries. About time for help to show. ZanYi started to swim towards Shun's voice, but it was getting harder to swim, her vision starting to blur. She cursed herself for having taken so much of the gas in her lungs.

Warm relief flooded through the giant waterbender as ZanYi's head popped out of the water and she began to swim towards him. She was all right, she was safe, everything was fine…

"Took… you guys… long enou—!"

ZanYi was cut-off, her body thrust under the water. Another Neo-Equalist held her under, gripping her throat as he breathed through his mask with ease. The lieutenant wanted to strike back, but she knew Shun was in the water, and she was not about to shock the life out of him. Instead, she fought back with her legs, kicking and thrashing at her assailant.

But it was starting to get hard to see, hard to stay awake…

His heart freezing in his chest, Shun dove under the water immediately to investigate what the problem was. There was a Neo-Equalist dragging ZanYi down, and though she fought hard, Shun could tell that she was losing strength.

Anger burned through the giant waterbender, hotter than he had ever felt it; it almost scared him. Torpedoing towards the offender, Shun snuck up behind the Neo-Equalist while he was busy with ZanYi, ripping off the mask and effectively cutting off his air supply. As the Neo-Equalist clutched at his throat in surprise, Shun bended the water below him, building up the pressure and causing the Neo-Equalist to shoot out of the water, probably to land hundreds of feet away.

Shun wrapped an arm around ZanYi's waist, using his other arm and his legs to push their way towards the surface. The gas still hung thick over the surface, so Shun had to breathe in shallow breaths as he swam steadily toward the shore.

"Are you okay, ZanYi?" Shun wanted to check, turning a concerned eye onto the woman in his arms.

She did not answer at first, taking the opportunity to take what little oxygen she could into her lungs. The fog in her mind was beginning to clear, her vision starting to clear. She didn't know what happened to her assailant, but she figured nothing good, since he was no longer with them.

It took ZanYi the next minute to realize who it was speaking to her, and when she did, she answered, "I'm… fine, Shun. Took you long enough… to get here." The lieutenant coughed up some water, her lungs a little achy. She hoped it wouldn't mess with her firebending. "Is everyone else… okay?" ZanYi asked, forcing water and gas from her lungs.

"Tiki and Syaoran are fine," Shun assured the lieutenant, sounding relieved when ZanYi finally answered. "Syaoran is up on the volcano taking out jets, and Tiki is fighting Neo-Equalists on the beach. It was because of her that we were able to find you."

"Took you long enough!" the tiny airbender unwittingly echoed ZanYi, actually tapping her foot as Shun pulled the lieutenant onto shore before collapsing next to her, his chest heaving.

"Where are… all the Neo-Equalists?" Shun asked, pushing up to lean on his elbows, looking up at Tiki.

"They took off somewhere after I whooped their butts," Tiki replied, sounding unconcerned. "But there's no time for you to rest! We've gotta get up to where Syaoran is!"

The airbender kept glancing around, paranoid. Her senses had peaked; whatever was going to happen, it was going to happen in a manner of minutes. The question was: what was it?

"Tiki's right," ZanYi croaked, pushing herself back onto her feet. Sopping wet, the lieutenant shook herself a bit drier. "We've got to get going." She looked up the volcano, watching as Syaoran flung rock after rock at the jets flying overhead. The jets would get deterred from swooping down or one would get wrecked and spiral out over the ocean. But the few that were affected by neither were about to drop a couple of surprises.

It was just as ZanYi started to sprint up the hillside that the bombs started to drop. Syaoran looked down to find the lieutenant dropping to roll out of the way of the explosives and his heart skipped. He didn't have time to even be relieved that she was okay from the smog and attack. The bombs were starting to fall and she was heading right through the minefield to make her way up to him. "Watch out!" he called out to her, chucking more rocks into the soaring planes. He breathed a quick sigh of relief when she managed to reach his side, unharmed.

"Need some help?" she asked him, taking the opportunity to fling fists of fire towards the jets as they zoomed. ZanYi nailed one in the propellers, the smoke billowing as it swooped down towards the waters. Syaoran nodded to her, and the two of them started an onslaught to the sky. Fire and stone defied gravity as it flew, projectiles and bombs of the bender orientation.

Shun and Tiki arrived moments later, ready for action. Having refilled his canteen, Shun was actually able to help on top of the volcano. When a jet became too close, Shun just sent a stream of water into the most delicate-looking part of the jet he could find. A few short seconds later, something would short-circuit, and the jet would go down, though some pilots were able to eject in time. The conscious White Lotus members would take care of them then.

Tiki, for her part, wanted to get up close and personal. She glided around through the air, blocking the views of the pilots until they eventually lost control of the jet and had to eject themselves.

"Ha! Not so tough without your jets, are ya? Yeah, keep running—or dropping! You good for nothing Neo—!"

Tiki had flown up close to taunt a particular pilot that was about to eject himself from his jet after having both Shun and Tiki interfere with his flying ability. As the top flew off from his jet, he simultaneously drew a gun from an inner pocket. Without any hesitation or remorse—without even batting an eyelash—he fired.

"TIKI!" Shun cried as the tiny airbender plummeted back to the earth. He had to dive to save her from falling into the mouth of the dormant volcano, getting blood all over his hands as he grabbed her around her abdomen. Panic struck the giant waterbender when he noticed just how much blood there was. "Oh no—hang on, Tiki, hang on!"

Tiki's face was pale and contorted with pain. The bullet had gone straight through her abdomen, and copious amounts of blood were pouring out. Even as Shun covered the wound with water, he was afraid that the bullet had hit some organs and Tiki might be bleeding internally.

"Hold on, Tiki. Hold on."

This became Shun's mantra as he worked, his panic making him clumsy. His thoughts were nearly incoherent, but they all centered on prayers for Tiki's well-being. The tiny airbender couldn't die. She could not.

Both Syaoran and ZanYi paused in their offense as Tiki came down. "Tiki!" Syaoran called out, whirling to see where the airbender had fallen. ZanYi, however, saw the shooter zoom in closer in their surprise, the gun still in hand.

"Oh, no you don't," the lieutenant muttered. Her hands grew ablaze with blue flames, and with a rough shove off the ground, ZanYi propelled herself into the air. She ignored Syaoran as he called out her name. Landing on the plane, she glared at the pilot. He whipped out his gun and fired again, but the lieutenant grabbed his wrist and diverted the shot to the clouds.

Using her leverage, ZanYi pulled the man out of his jet and they both fell through the skies. They landed back on the island with a sickening thud as the jet itself spiraled out into the nearby waves, the lieutenant using her flames to cushion her fall a bit. "ZanYi!" she heard Syaoran call, the concern in his voice again.

"I'm fine! I've got the others, so take care of the jets!" she yelled back to him, stumbling over to where Tiki and Shun lay. Syaoran was about to affirm her orders when he noticed something even worse.

"LOOK OUT!" Syaoran cried at the top of his lungs as the bomb fell from the sky. ZanYi looked up in raised her hands as the bomb dropped right by them. Unlike Omashu, she was prepared for this and bended the resulting explosion around them. Doesn't mean it didn't affect her.

The lieutenant flew back with the force, falling back, rolling, skidding a bit further down the mount. And Syaoran saw her struggling to get up. His eyes grew wide.

Bombs were being dropped around them. ZanYi was down. Tiki was shot. Shun was doing his best just to keep Tiki alive. All of them—hurt because he'd tried to make them stay to fight. Again, the Avatar was unable to protect the ones that tried to protect him.

Something stirred inside him, and Syaoran had nothing left to hold it back. A strange force came over him and suddenly more power than he could have ever imagined rushed through him. There was light around him—was he glowing? Syaoran would have found that impossible, but he was not himself at that moment.

The earth began to shake beneath his feet, and there was a rumbling from deep within. The crater of the volcano shook and cracked. Lava began to pool—but only briefly; soon it was flying, rising, and burning down every single jet in Syaoran's sight.

Red glowed in the setting sky, the heat burning hotter than the sun had before. Embers dropped and splotches fell upon the mountainside. But the lava continued to fly, erupting into the atmosphere.

And all under Syaoran's might.

Though Shun was trying to heal Tiki as quickly as possible, he could not help but stare, awestruck at the power Syaoran was exuding.

"So this is the might of the Avatar…" he breathed, hardly daring to believe it. A small cough caught his attention, and he looked down to find Tiki struggling to sit up.

"Let… let me see…" the tiny airbender pleaded weakly. Carefully, Shun assisted Tiki, making sure not to exasperate her wound. When her gray eyes caught sight of the falling lava and Syaoran's glowing form, Tiki miraculously smiled. "He did it," she whispered, a note of pride in her voice. "So that's what I was feeling all along… Syaoran finally reached his Avatar state."

"Yeah," Shun agreed, adopting the proud note in Tiki's voice, "yeah, he did."

It had taken a desperate situation to allow Syaoran to unlock his Avatar potential. While Shun wished it did not have to come at such a high price, he was glad that their salvation had finally come.

ZanYi, amidst her struggle to gain her footing, looked up in surprise, in awe. "The Avatar state…" she muttered, watching the fire rain down around them and on the enemy crafts. The lieutenant let out a small, disbelieving grunt, the corner of her lip curling a bit. "He's really the Avatar…"

Syaoran swept an arm out, sending a flow of lava explosively into another series of jets, and they all crashed into the sea. The fallen soldiers on the ground and in the water scrambled away, trying their best to scamper away from Syaoran.

Nothing was left in the air, the waters were clear. And slowly, every bit by bit, the heat began to decrease. The lava returned to its crater and the earth ceased to roar. And just like that, the energy seeped away from him and the glow in his eyes disappeared.

Syaoran fell to his feet, and then onto his rear. His jade eyes looked around him, dumbfounded. Ash and magma littered the hill. Plane parts and metal were scattered about. "What did I just do?" he asked, looking around him. But then he saw his comrades below and, scrambling to his feet, Syaoran ran down to them. He headed towards ZanYi, her body scorched and torn on the ground. The lieutenant, however, shook her head.

"I'm fine. Go check on Tiki," she ordered, trying to push herself to her feet again. After ZanYi finally managed to rise to a wobbly stand, he obeyed. Running over to where Tiki and Shun were, he looked at them with grave concern. "Are you guys okay?" he demanded to know, kneeling next to him. He saw how the blood had pooled there and took a sharp intake of breath. "Tiki, are you going to be okay?"

Tiki's face was still ashen, but she gave a stiff nod.

"I think so," she mumbled, closing her eyes and clutching at Shun's arm. The crease in between Shun's brows deepened.

"You've lost a lot of blood, Tiki. You'll need to stay still after this, understand?" the giant waterbender ordered, finally healing the bullet hole in Tiki's abdomen. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to sit up so I can heal the hole in your back."

Tiki's lips pressed together, and she nodded once again. With Shun's help, she sat up, but just as Shun moved a hand to treat the rest of the wound, Tiki swayed dangerously.

"Syaoran, help Tiki sit up," Shun requested, gesturing for the Avatar to move in front of Tiki. Eyeing the airbender's glazed look, he added, "And try and keep her awake for me."

Syaoran nodded, eager to help. He shifted over so that he was in front of the small airbender. He allowed Tiki to lean towards him, and he held her forearms so that she could grasp at his.

"Just stay with me, Tiki," he told the girl, recalling what ZanYi had tried for when Shun was concussed. "Talk to me."

The Avatar looked over his shoulder, eyes searching uneasily for ZanYi. In his brief glance he couldn't find her, and it made his stomach curl. But at the end of this fight, Tiki was the one who really needed him, as much as the place he wanted to be was elsewhere. So he looked back to the airbender and tried to focus. "Just… babble about something, Tiki. Stay awake."

Tiki gave no indication on whether she heard Syaoran or not. She was looking at him, but her eyes were clouded over. When it took too long for her to 'babble' as Syaoran requested, Shun began to get worried.

"Tiki? Can you hear us?" the giant waterbender asked, craning his neck to peer into Tiki's face. She gave him no sign that she did, but began to speak after a terrifying, silent moment.

"I knew you could do it," she whispered, eyes only for Syaoran. "You're the Avatar. I knew you would be great."

"Tiki says you're the reason she's been feeling as if something big was going to happen during this battle," Shun informed the Avatar with a slight smile. "She sensed you'd reach the Avatar state. She just didn't know she knew." Shun pulled back from Tiki's back, letting the blood-soiled water sink into the volcanic rock underneath them. "All done, Teeks. I don't think there's any internal bleeding, but I can't be sure, so just take it easy for a while, all right?"

"Mm-hm," Tiki agreed easily, bobbing her head obediently. It concerned Shun just a tad, to have Tiki so docile. He much preferred her more energetic state—at least that meant she was healthy.

Syaoran nodded too, as if Shun's words had been to him. But he was nodding for an entirely different reason. Tiki had gone on about her feelings about the battle, about the day. And that feeling had been him. "I guess the 'something big' was a good thing in the end, right?" he asked her, recalling their conversation.

Since Shun was done healing the tiny airbender, Syaoran glanced around again, trying to find the lieutenant. But what he found was not what he expected. The Avatar turned just in time to see the man who'd shot Tiki standing over him. Barrel of his gun pointed at him, the man sneered.

"If we get one victory today, it will be killing the Avatar," the soldier rasped. But before Syaoran could do a thing, the gun was wrenched from the man's hand and kicked away. ZanYi twisted the Neo-Equalist's arm behind his back and slammed him down in the ground with great force.

"Point a gun at one of my team one more time, and I swear I'll take you out," she growled, panting. It had taken most of the strength she still had to get over there and put him down. Everything hurt, but ZanYi hoped nothing worse. If there was, she couldn't tell yet. The soldier tried to rise up, but ZanYi slammed his head down into the ground again, kneeling into his back to hold him down. "Don't push your luck with me. I'm not the forgiving type and you've got me in a bad mood."

Shun had pulled Tiki into the shelter of his arms when the shooting soldier reappeared and was reaching for Syaoran just when ZanYi took him down. She looked tired, but as long as she had a firm grip on him, Shun was not worried.

"I say we put him in concrete shoes and let him sink to the bottom of the ocean," Tiki suggested, some of her old self returning to her voice. Her face had paled even further at the sight of the shooter, shrinking into Shun's side, but her eyes stayed on him, as if she could not look away.

Shun rubbed Tiki's shoulders, trying to soothe her. "We should probably figure out what he knows first," he said, his eyes uncharacteristically hard as he surveyed the Neo-Equalist.

"As if I'd tell you filthy benders anything!" the shooter spat, giving them all the dirtiest looks he could muster, under the circumstances.

"All right," Shun shrugged, giving Syaoran a nod, "Concrete shoes it is."

Rather than being intimidated, the Neo-Equalist just laughed. It was a cold, humorless laugh, one that chilled Shun's blood. This man was giving off the signs of a sociopath, and the less time they spent in his company, the better. "That's funny," the shooter said, still chuckling. "You wouldn't want to treat me so roughly, if you knew that I knew where we were hiding a certain important airbending couple."

Tiki froze, the fog in her head suddenly clearing so fast that it almost made her dizzy. The Neo-Equalist was staring straight at her, grinning cruelly.

"How does it feel to know that 'the bad guys' have your parents, Tiki Chouko?" he asked, his tone implying that they were having a pleasant conversation.

"…What did you say…?" Tiki whispered, her voice becoming deathly quiet. It was not true. It was impossible. He was lying. There was no way he could know who she was, no way he was directly responsible for the disappearance of her parents…

"In two weeks time, your parents, the most influential airbenders of Republic City, are going to be made an example of. If you want to know where they are, you won't touch a hair on my head."

"Or I could burn it all off," ZanYi growled, putting more pressure into his back and pulling back a hand to set it on fire, "Take your pick."

The lieutenant was certainly surprised by the revelation he held, but she did her best not to show it. Last thing they needed was to give him any more bargaining tools.

Syaoran, however, was not nearly as efficient. The shock was written all over his face, and he was speechless. This guy knew not only where Tiki's parents were, but that something was going to happen to them. In two weeks. That wasn't a lot of time to work with, now that they knew. The Avatar looked at Tiki's face, and realized there was no way they could turn down this lead. This was far too important, and if it was his family, Syaoran knew what he'd want them to do. "We need his information," he said quietly, looking at Tiki and Shun.

ZanYi looked at them and down to the man she was pinning. "Give me twenty-four hours, and I can break him," she offered.

"Will I like it?" the man jeered with a sneer, looking up at the lieutenant.

At that, ZanYi pushed his face back into the ground again, disgusted. "No, I can assure you that you won't." She was not a lieutenant of Special Forces for nothing.

Syaoran wanted to punch him too, and looking back to their other two companions, he flatly noted, "I'm still down for concrete shoes."

"Me too," Shun found himself agreeing, eyeing the shooter with disgust. He did not appreciate the sicko's sense of humor, and he was momentarily harboring the same violent tendencies as ZanYi and Syaoran.

Tiki, however, did not seem like she could wait for twenty-four hours to be over. Pulling herself from Shun's grasp, the tiny airbender rose to her feet unsteadily. But Tiki did not care that she had just suffered a bullet wound. All she could feel now was rage. "Tell us what you know," she said quietly, staring steadily down at the Neo-Equalist. He merely sneered at her.

"Make me," he mocked her. Not needing any further prompting, Tiki smashed her heel into the man's face.

"Tell me where my parents are!" Tiki demanded again, her voice rising to a shriek, raising her foot for another blow.

"Tiki!" Shun called, getting up and pulling the tiny airbender away, though she put up no small amount of a fight. "Tiki, calm down!"

"He knows where my parents are!" Tiki cried, her voice breaking, "He says my parents will die if we don't find them! He has to tell us! If he won't talk, I'll make him!"

Shun could only stare down at the struggling girl, dumbstruck. He had never seen Tiki act this way before. None of her tantrums have ever been this bad. She was crying, but her anger was the primary emotion in her glaring eyes as she struggled to get free from Shun, focused only on the man beneath ZanYi's grasp.

Syaoran looked at Tiki with a new set of eyes, completely dumbfounded. Tiki was usually off of her rocker, sure, but this? This kind of Tiki was entirely new territory.

"Tiki, calm down!" he told the airbender, rising to his feet to look at her, holding up two appeasing hands. It did not help that their shooter started to laugh.

"That's right, little girl. I know where your parents are. And in two weeks time, all the hope you've held on to will disappear."

Syaoran whirled on the man, trying to hold himself back from beating him as well. "Shut-up!" he ordered the soldier, but to no avail. In fact, it seemed to make things worse.

"Face it: you guys need me," the Neo-Equalist sneered. But instead of having his face bashed in again, it was lifted off of the ground.

ZanYi yanked him to his feet, keeping a tight lock on his wrist, twisted behind him. Doing the same to his other hand, the lieutenant turned back to her comrades. "Don't worry, Tiki. You'll get the information," the firebender assured her, a deadly glint in her eyes. Looking to Shun, she said, "I'll be taking a rain check on my check-up for now."

With force and a bit of heat in her grasp, ZanYi forced her new captive onward, dragging him away to be questioned—most likely tortured. Syaoran was able to admire the usefulness of the lieutenant at that moment as well as fear her all the more. Though, he did notice, there was a slight limp to her step. Syaoran made a note to ask about it later, but right now, she clearly had another agenda. Like helping Tiki find out what was happening with her parents.

"Shun, _let me go!_" Tiki insisted, fighting harder than ever after she saw the Neo-Equalist being led away by ZanYi. Shun's grip on Tiki only tightened.

"Stop struggling, Teeks. You've just been shot," he reminded her.

Tiki seemed not to care for her just-healed wound, nor did she care to calm down. "I have to—I have to—!" she was huffing, her eyes fixed resolutely on the spot where ZanYi and her questioning victim disappeared. Shun had never seen Tiki look this way, and it concerned him. Sinking to his knees, Shun grasped Tiki's arms, meeting her eyes.

"Tiki," he said in the most soothing voice he possessed, "it's going to be okay."

"It's not!" Tiki protested, her eyes welling up with tears as she struggled still. "If he doesn't talk—if he won't tell us—!"

"ZanYi knows what she's doing," Shun insisted, his thumbs stroking Tiki's arms. "Trust her."

This seemed to finally appease Tiki—or perhaps she had just reached her breaking point. With a sob, the tiny airbender sank to her knees, her hands over her eyes as she cried harder than she ever had before. Shun pulled Tiki to him, stroking her back to soothe her and making noises of assurance. It broke his heart to see Tiki so broken up, but he could not blame her: if it had been his parents he had just found out were being held captive, he was not sure he would not have reacted in the same way… but with less crying, perhaps.

Syaoran turned to the fallen airbender, and he felt a pang of sympathy for her. This wasn't going to be easy for Tiki, and the Avatar could only hope that ZanYi knew what she was doing as much as they thought she knew. But if there was someone that he would want on his side if it came down to saving his own family from the concentration camps, it would be the lieutenant. So with that reassurance in mind, the earthbender moved to kneel next to Tiki and Shun, looking at the former determinedly. "Shun's right. It's going to be okay," he tried to assure her. "We'll get the information and then we'll go save your parents. Right, Shun?"

He looked to the waterbender, trying to get him to agree. It was a slight jump, but Tiki needed this from them. She needed to save her parents, and if they got the information, they had to follow it through. Two weeks wasn't a long detour, and none of them would be able to focus on his training now.

"That's right," Shun agreed, nodding approvingly at Syaoran. "So don't cry anymore, Teeks. We're here for you, and we're not going to let anything happen to your parents. We promise."

A great sniffle sounded from Tiki, and she looked up at the men next to her. Her eyes were already red and puffy, and there were still tears streaming her face. Slowly, she nodded.

"…Thanks, guys," she whispered, bowing her head. As if she still needed the support—and she probably did—she reached out and grasped a hand from Shun and Syaoran each. Shun gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, her tiny fingers disappearing within his large ones. Poor Tiki. To go through so much in one day...and now they had a two-week deadline weighing down on their heads, one where if they were not fast enough, two lives would be lost forever.

Shun just hoped, for Tiki's sake, that they were able to keep the promise he had already made to her. He had no idea what state Tiki would be in, should they fail.

Syaoran didn't know either, but he was not willing to find out. He squeezed Tiki's hand and gave her a stalwart nod. They were supposed to be a team, and if they were going to protect and teach him, he had to at least try to help them in return. "Don't sweat it, Tiki," he told her before releasing his hand. The Avatar rose to his feet and looked down at his two partners. "Now let's go figure out where we're going. We've got two airbenders to save."

* * *

**A/N: Aaaaaaand that's it, folks! That's the end Book One: Fire! Remember, it's the shortest of all the books, and now we're going to be changing gears as we move into Book Two: Air. But, can we just clap for a moment, since Syaoran finally did something, well, Avatar-ly? xD**

**On another note, we're actually trying to decide if we are going to continue to post this. We have the first three books fully written, the fourth one moving towards a finale right now for the series. But we just want to know whether it's worth putting up more. So, it's up to you guys: do you guys want more? If so, please tell us! We want to know!**

**So, for the acknowledgments of the last chappie:**

**Wiechcheu1925: Always so thorough! I love it! For you: the finale... a day early xD And you are correct in thinking it hasn't been very long by comparison. Obviously, true mastery comes with years of practice and honing. In no way do we think Syaoran is somehow prodigal-far from it, since he's literally the most normal of normal. But similar to the original series, this is a time of war, where everything goes wrong so quickly, and the past almost two decades of fighting are wearing. The benders and the Resistance need a miracle, so Syaoran is more or less on the accelerated track at this point. I'm so glad you're really reading this and getting into it where you have questions and requests! I'll be happy to answer them at any time and so glad you've stuck with us!  
**

**Andreas . Bruckert: Thanks for the Author Alert subscription! Now you'll be informed if/when we post up Book Two: Air, as well as when any one-shots start popping up!**

**That's all for now, folks! Again, please let us know if you want us to continue this trek! We want your opinion :] Until hopefully soon, farewell!**


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